Dreamers
by Ourania
Summary: A Link/Malon fanfic. What would have happened if there were two Heroes of Time? What if they fell in love with eachother? I've added some things to the older chapters, they aren't essential things just something to explain it better.
1. Dreamers

Within the deepest reaches of Kokiri forest the children of the Great Deku Tree slept peacefully, soft smiles touching their childlike faces while guardian fairies flew above their heads in lazy circles.  
  
One kokiri, however, could find no solace, even in the sanctity of his dreams. He tossed and turned in the throes of some horrible nightmare, making frightened noises, trying to throw away the blankets that had wrapped around his struggling form.  
  
They called him the Boy without a Fairy, and although he looked and acted as they did, there was always one thing that set him apart, a guardian fairy. All Kokirians had a fairy, given to them at birth by the Deku Tree, but oddly enough this little boy had never received one.  
  
So while he sought acceptance, he would find none, and although he wanted nothing more than to blend in it was never meant to be, for he had a greater purpose to fulfill.  
  
So even as the Gerudo with the fire in his eyes tormented the young boy's sleep; the wheels and cogs of destiny began to turn.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Miles away from the forest a young girl's sleep was haunted by the very same nightmare.  
  
She awoke with a gasp, looking around the room in blind panic. It was only after the darkness calmed her racing heart and the man with the burning eyes faded did she begin to ponder the dream.  
  
It had made little sense to her, and she was extremely sensible for a ten- year-old, why would someone she had never seen suddenly appear in her dreams?  
  
"Malon," a sleepy voice called from downstairs, "Are ya alright?"  
  
The young girl smiled slightly and responded, "Yes daddy, it was just another bad dream. Go back to sleep."  
  
Malon waited patiently until she heard the sound of her father's snoring, she then jumped out of bed and walked over to her window, easing it open and looking out.  
  
A gentle breeze immediately entered the room and twined through her red hair, and she smiled again this time more genuinely.  
  
Carefully climbing out the window, she stretched her small legs to their fullest, her feet touching the ledge that ran around the side of her house. Malon stepped along the narrow edge, and then jumped onto the lower part of the roof, giggling merrily at the feat. She walked along the lower roof until she reached the edge, glanced at the distance between her and the tree that grew by her house and without further delay leapt onto a branch, climbing down with a child's carelessness until searching toes met solid ground.  
  
Grass tickled her feet as she made her way to the stables; she opened the door, peering in; she saw several pairs of wide eyes staring back at her. She grinned sheepishly and walked in, patting the horses apologetically. Many of them sniffed her pockets for treats and upon finding none turned away from the young girl, sullenly going back to sleep.  
  
Malon walked around until she found the horse she had been looking for; she ran over to Epona and patted the colt's head, murmuring a now familiar greeting. Epona snorted, head-butting the young girl in the chest to welcome her in return, then sniffed curiously at her pockets just as the other horses had done. Malon beamed, opening the stable door she laid down at the young horse's feet, grabbing a few handfuls of hay to serve as a pillow.  
  
Ever since Malon had lost her mother she had been cursed with nightmares, and it had become customary to run out to the stables and sleep near the young horse whenever one decided to invade her usually simple dreams. It seemed the bad dreams had problems returning when she was in the barn, but how she had come across this revelation she still wasn't sure.  
  
Epona stood over the girl like an oversized guard dog, snorting at a mouse who was making its nightly run. The mouse bolted, chattering angrily all the way and Epona grunted in satisfaction, pawing the ground farthest from Malon in a triumphant manner.  
  
Malon grinned and slowly fell asleep. The nightmare didn't return to trouble her; it seemed a more pleasant dream had finally come.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A young man smiled at her, blonde hair falling around his face and into his mischievous blue eyes. A bluish light, a fairy, hovered above his head, cursing amiably about something. In one hand the blonde man held a beautifully crafted ocarina that glowed with an ethereal light; in the other he held a blade, a sword that seemed to murmur the very secrets of time.  
  
He whispered something to her, but the words escaped her hearing as soon as they were uttered. She smiled anyway, feeling a happiness that filled the void her mother had left behind when she had passed.  
  
Malon continued to dream, blissfully unaware of what awaited her in the near future, and innocent to the fact that her fate was now irrevocably intertwined with someone she had yet to meet.

  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  


The Gerudo sat back in his heavily padded chair, his attentiveness fading quickly as the image in the scrying pool disappeared into the swirling black water. 

  


"Interesting." He murmured, tapping his chin as though in consideration, "Very interesting."

  


So They planned to foil him, did They? And through a pair of children's dreams no less. He chuckled humorlessly at the thought, orange eyes gleaming with something sinister. Ganondorf was not one to be so easily deterred, especially by two little kids who were frightened at the mere projection of his face into their dreams. It seemed beneath him to deal with these brats. If they became dangerous, he could wipe them off the chess board with a simple flick of the wrist, they were not an immediate problem.

  


He rose and paced the length of the room, his slightly battered cloak brushing against a great pile of books. He sneered at the tomes, annoyed. He had scoured the Royal Library for anything containing the slightest hint about the Triforce or the Sacred Realm and smuggled several dozen choice volumes into his guest room to research. Unfortunately, long hours of concentration had passed in vain; there was nothing that could lead him to what he sought, only silly legends that held no truth.

  


"Nothing." He hissed, knocking over a crooked stack furiously, "At this rate I'll be in the grave before I find anything useful."

  


A soft sound made him turn hastily toward the door just in time to realize it was ajar. Ganondorf listened raptly, and upon hearing the hushed thuds of retreating footfalls, let loose a heated curse. Zelda, it had to have been that royal pain eavesdropping on him once again. The distrust in her eyes when he had first arrived was readable enough, and even though it had faded in the other residents of the Castle, the girl had remained defiant in her suspicions of him.

  


'Not that they're without merit.' He thought as he shut the door and locked it before seating himself near his scrying equipment once more. 'It appears that Fate has decided to throw a bunch of children in my path.'

  


He grabbed the decanter a servant had brought earlier, pouring its red contents into a jeweled goblet. He swirled the red wine, eyeing it wonderingly before deciding the King would not have dared to poison him. Old habits died hard however, and he sniffed the liquid's delicate aroma before deeming it safe enough to drink.

  


He picked a random book up off the nearest stack, flipping open the cracked cover to look at the contents and taking another sip from the goblet. If the Goddesses wished to send a trio of brats his way then They were entitled to it. He smirked darkly as he turned a yellowed page, 'It's Their own fault, however, if I return them in pieces.'

  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  



	2. The Meeting

Malon had been waiting patiently for her father to return from the Castle, and although she was usually quite tolerant of her dad's antics, this was quickly becoming too much.  
  
She looked around the Market, pausing at a booth to glance longingly at a length of green silk. The vendor noticed her interest and walked over to ensure a deal. She flushed at the price, said she wasn't interested and quickly walked away, vexed with herself for thinking such a fine piece of cloth would be in her price range.  
  
"It would have made a nice dress." She thought sadly, walking to the fruit vendor, while humming a simple tune. She spotted an apple and reached for it, another hand colliding with hers; she pulled away and turned to see a boy putting his hand back to his side. "Go ahead." She said, grabbing the ruby apple and handing it to him.  
  
'He looks beat.' She thought solemnly, and indeed that was exactly how the young boy looked. He wore a green tunic, which seemed to have been torn and dirtied beyond repair, and streaks of filth covered his face and blonde hair. He gave her a tired smile, but it never reached his haunted blue eyes.  
  
She felt a stir of pity, and quickly reached into her small purse to hand the vendor a rupee for the apple.  
  
The young boy frowned a bit, looking at her quizzically. Malon felt herself becoming increasingly embarrassed and she quickly said, "I don't think I caught your name."  
  
A blush rose unbidden into her cheeks when the boy smiled, more authentically this time, and opened his mouth to reply only to be beaten to it by another.  
  
"His name is Link. He doesn't talk a whole lot so don't expect a thank you."  
  
Malon blinked and glanced around, and only then did she observe the fairy hovering above the young boy's hat. Link glared up at the pixie, and attempted to flick it away, although he was smiling a bit himself. The smile lit up his entire face and Malon realized that he wasn't much older than she was, not to mention that he was rather attractive.  
  
Unfortunately the fairy didn't miss Malon's appreciative glance. "Oh and my name is Navi, and since you appear so taken by my partner here would you mind buying me an apple too?" a slight giggle escaped the fairy's throat as she once again dodged away from danger.  
  
The young girl tittered self-consciously, Link glared, Navi laughed.  
  
In the end Malon bought another apple.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So you're from the forest?" Malon asked as they devoured the pastries she had bought.  
  
Link nodded, finishing off the sweet roll before replying, "I've lived there my whole life, and it's a nice place, as long as you don't venture into the Lost Woods alone."  
  
Malon nodded, absent mindedly picking the roll apart instead of eating it. Navi found that extremely wasteful and lectured the young girl about it intensely before taking the pastry for herself, consuming the entire sugary thing with an efficiency Malon had only seen in goats.  
  
The red head rolled her eyes at the fairy, then realized Link had asked a question.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
He smiled, "I asked you where you were from."  
  
"Lon Lon Ranch, my dad owns it. You should come by sometime, we don't get a whole lot of visitors." She had spat out the words without even thinking of them first, and then frowned at herself. "I'm sorry, we just met and here I am blabbing away like I've known you forever. It's just-"  
  
He raised an eyebrow when she stopped, but she was too busy trying to figure out what 'it just' was. He seemed familiar, like an old friend who had been gone for years and had just returned to visit. She felt an involuntary tug at her heart whenever he smiled, and felt ridiculous for it; they had just met after all.  
  
A hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her reverie and she looked up to see Link frowning.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked, taking his hand away from her shoulder. "You seemed a bit gone for a second."  
  
She nodded, watching his hand slipping away and feeling vaguely cheated. The thought that marriage at her age wouldn't be considered an oddity crossed her mind for a second, then fled at her mortification.  
  
It was then she noticed the sun had been going down for quite sometime and frowned.  
  
"I have to get going before the gate closes." She sighed, walking briskly toward the said exit, she stopped. "Where are you staying tonight?"  
  
"At the inn." Navi said with an impish smile. Link rolled his eyes and nodded in agreement.  
  
Malon smiled, "Well then, maybe I'll see you later."  
  
Link grinned back and waved as she ran across the drawbridge, slowly disappearing from view.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Ganondorf watched the young girl run for her home with detached interest. She obviously had something to do with the fate of Hyrule, the almost invisible threads of Fate attaching her to that disruptive young Kokiri assured him of that. But it wasn't the reason he was watching her now.

When he had first scryed for her, he had been too preoccupied with other thoughts to really pay attention to exactly what it was he was seeing. Now warning signals bounced off the inside of his skull, and his hackles rose at the very sight of this peculiar young girl. In her, Ganondorf sensed a power, a strange, limitless power that made his skin crawl with something akin to dread. He had felt it keenly when she had been in the Market, it was so apparent he was surprised no one else in the Castle had perceived it. Perhaps this deserved more tending to than he had originally supposed. In the end it came down to two obvious options, he could either exterminate her right then and there or he could wait.  
  
He had never been the patient type. 

  



	3. Water and Sunlight

True darkness had fallen over Hyrule, even the full moon rising above the mountain ranges did little to banish the sinister feeling of the black night. It was quiet, many creatures were retiring to the comfort of their homes after a particularly long day. But it would not be silent long, for while some slept, others were just awakening.  
  
Ganondorf called to these 'others', commanded their assistance, and while the less corrupt were able to ignore him some were eager to respond to his summoning.  
  
The King of Thieves sat in the guest room of the Castle, patiently awaiting his guests arrival. It was ironic really, such evil things being performed right in the King's own castle.  
  
"He hasn't a clue." Ganondorf mused softly to himself, "His daughter is the only lit candle in this entire palace, and no one will listen to her."  
  
Ganondorf looked into the inky blackness of his scrying pool where he had first seen the young girl leave the Market. She was still walking through Hyrule Field seemingly without a care in the world, but she would not remain that way for long.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted suddenly as the tiles in the floor erupted, granite squares flying forcefully into walls, followed by clods of wet earth. A ball of black energy in hand, Ganondorf raised an eyebrow at what had crawled into his room.  
  
Red eyes emerged, attached to a skeletal body. Sharp uneven teeth snapped at nothing in particular as the rest of the bones pulled themselves out of the hole. It's cruelly curled claws made eerie noises as they clicked against the remaining light brown tiles.  
  
"You called?" it cracked, vocal cords long since decayed from centuries underground. "What is it that you wish?"  
  
"I want her dead." The thief replied, gesturing to the girl's image in the black pool of water. "And I want it done quickly, tonight if possible."  
  
"What do we receive in return?" the Stalchild questioned, gnashing its teeth together.  
  
Ganondorf's eyes flashed angrily, he admittedly hadn't expected such arrogance from the creature. He threw a bolt of black magic at the floor next to the beast's feet. "You can keep whatever life animates your bones!" he growled low in his throat, a mask of fury overtaking his features.  
  
"My life is unimportant, there are thousands of us." The monster replied, its threat bellied by the indifference in it's cracked voice.  
  
Ganondorf muttered several curses, pondering whether or not to kill the horrid thing anyway. He regained his composure and after a moment's thought made a compromise, "If you do in fact kill her," he snarled, "Then you can keep her body."  
  
The Stalchild laughed gruesomely, its crimson eyes glowing brighter as it considered the assortment of things it could accomplish with such a rare item. After a moment it gave a mock bow and hissed, "It's a bargain." Then jumped back into the floor and disappeared.  
  
When the abhorrent little monster had gone Ganondorf allowed himself a small shudder, whatever the Stalchildren did to the young girl's body would be decidedly unpleasant.  
  
He glared at the hole in the floor and reluctantly began to repair it; he was pretty sure that no matter how dense the King of Hyrule was, even he would notice a crater to the hells in the floor of his best guest room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon hated the night, the darkness swallowed up all the colors of the world, leaving everything black, gray, and white. She hated plain colors, but not quite as much as she detested the fact that she couldn't get Link off her mind.  
  
The crickets chirruped in the grass, and the young girl tried fruitlessly to hum the melody along with them, attempting to forget all about Link and her unreasonable attraction to him. "Just a flight of fancy." She murmured absently, this feeling was probably just something that was there one moment and gone the next. "Then why am I still thinking about him?"  
  
Malon once again looked up at the moon that was slowly making its way across the sky and realized how late it really was. Her father would be infuriated she was sure, although it was enough to make her laugh when she considered how her father was always late for everything.  
  
She kicked absently at a loose rock, swinging her bag from the Market around, when something scuffled behind her. Turning around, all she saw was a mound of stirred up dirt. She frowned, and only then did she realize that the crickets had gone silent.  
  
She quickened her pace, irrational fear overriding her senses while somewhere in the back of her mind she prayed she was just being paranoid.  
  
Malon tripped suddenly, then jumped up to resume running only to realize that she was stuck. She hissed fearfully, looked down at her foot and untangled herself from the bramble.  
  
She got up, feeling the adrenaline subside and reason come back to chastise her. Malon dusted off her backside and reached out for her fallen Market bag.  
  
Only to figure out she was no longer alone.  
  
Red eyes pierced through the shadowy night, and ivory bones gleamed in the weak moonlight. Its maw was pulled back in a grotesque smile as it reached out a pale, skeletal hand to grab the stricken child.  
  
A scream tore its way through Malon's throat and she bolted the other way, the nightmarish monster following closely behind her, the click-clack of its bones grinding together echoing strangely in her ears.  
  
Another creature rose out of the dirt before her, forcing her to dodge to the left. Her blue eyes were wide with fear as she watched half a dozen more emerge from the ground in front of her. It occurred to her that she was being herded away from the ranch and back towards the castle's closed drawbridge.  
  
'They're driving me into a trap!' her mind shrieked, as she avoided a pair of razor sharp claws. She had heard of these things before, but had thought them to merely be ancient legend, used as a warning to little children who had wanted to brave the outside during the night. They were called Stalchildren, denizens of the dead whose only weakness was sunlight. She looked up hopefully at the sky and felt her heart skip a beat; the sun would be well hidden for at least another two hours.  
  
"I can't run that long!" she cried aloud, her small muscles already aching. The Stalchildren, hearing her fear, laughed in unison, an ugly sound that made her blood run cold. It was then that a thought flew into her mind, a thought not entirely her own.  
  
"Water." Her mind whispered, "Water and sunlight."  
  
Malon turned to the nearest water source, which happened to be the moat near the entrance to the Market. She jumped in, and narrowly avoided a fatal blow to the head from a Stalchild. The chilly water instantly seeped through her clothing and froze her to the bone, making her gasp in pained surprise.  
  
Several of the Stalchildren jumped in after her, instantly burning away. The fragile magic that held them together falling apart when pitted against an elemental magic in its truest form. Malon shivered as the tortured screams reached her ears, but she felt no real pity.  
  
The eldest of the Stalchildren waited at the river bank for a moment, glaring down her with their glowing ruby eyes before disappearing back into the earth. She had evaded them; they knew they could not follow her into the water.  
  
Malon cried in relief when she saw them leave, her tears falling into the moat that had saved her as she waited for the sun to rise.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A chicken crowed from somewhere as the sky lightened into shades of faint pink and orange, banishing the darkness.  
  
The guard lowered the drawbridge and breathed in the fresh morning air, stretching to relieve the cramps in his rested muscles. It was then that he noticed something floating in the moat. He frowned, and went forward to investigate, yelling for assistance when he realized it was a child.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The guard carefully wrapped a warm towel around Malon's trembling form while the fruit vendor held her. Everyone from the Market clambered over each other to see the poor child who had fallen into the moat. Many sympathetic people offered their homes and fireplaces to her, but the young girl politely refused them all, claiming she only wanted to go home.  
  
The guard escorted her to Lon Lon Ranch, questioning her as to why she had been in the moat in the first place.  
  
"Did you fall?" he asked for the twentieth time, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, I've fallen in a couple of times myself."  
  
"No." she whispered woodenly, clutching the towel around herself more tightly, and then she asked, "What's your name?"  
  
The guard seemed surprised by the change in subject but replied anyway, "Evan."  
  
There was a loud yell and Evan turned to see a middle-aged man running toward them, waving his hand wildly in the air.  
  
"My dad." Malon said as way of explanation, then pinned Evan with a serious look, "I didn't fall into the moat last night," she said quietly, "Some monsters chased me in, Stalchildren I think they're called."  
  
Malon smiled slightly at his dubious expression, but her voice was firm, "I know that Stalchildren are of the Old World, I know that you have probably only heard of them because you use the legends to keep your own children in line, but I'm not kooky, I know what I saw."  
  
Talon was closing in on them, looking worriedly at Malon who smiled reassuringly at him but continued to talk to the guard. "Watch out for anything unusual Evan, I'm afraid that whatever is going to happen it's going to happen at the Castle first."  
  
The rancher grabbed his daughter and hugged her to him, demanding to know what had happened, then forgot what he had asked when he looked at Malon's tired face and dripping clothing.  
  
"Go in an' get into some different clothes!" he ordered, grabbing her hand and escorting her toward the door, "Yer soakin' wet!"  
  
Evan watched them go in and stood in the field for a moment longer, wondering just how far to take the girl's claims. Then turned on his heel and marched back to the Castle, determined to speak with the King. 

  



	4. Blood and Tears

The Castle shook to its very foundations, knocking both servant and noble to their knees. The tremor lasted only for a moment, but many people stayed close to the ground several hours afterwards, claiming that had only been a mild warning for the trouble that would lie ahead. The King of Hyrule had never believed in such superstitions, and after making sure everything was in proper working order he sat in the royal chambers thinking.  
  
Evan, one of his most trusted guards, had come to him earlier that morning and told him that Stalchildren, the horrors of legend, were roaming the fields of Hyrule; which had disturbed him greatly. Then the earthquake had occurred and he was no longer certain of what was going on. In his own kingdom for Goddesses' sake!  
  
Odd things had been happening ever since that Gerudo had come to his Kingdom, and even though the thief had sworn allegiance the King was no longer sure if Ganondorf had any loyalty to give away. He would have to monitor the King of Thieves, he decided, he couldn't very well kick a guest out of his Keep without good reasoning.  
  
The King would live only a short while to regret his politeness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Goddesses it's hot!" Navi complained, looking with disgust at the cavern around her. Dodongo's Cavern had to be one of the least pleasant places in all of Hyrule, magma and monsters making it all the less attractive. Her wings felt as though they would burst into flames like paper left to close to a fire and the whole of her body was drenched in sweat.  
  
"Link, if we ever get to go on a vacation, promise me it won't be anywhere near here."  
  
Link just laughed, opening the blocked door with a bomb flower and going through. There were two statues that seemed to be guarding a switch in the floor, and he carefully pushed one of the ugly sculptures onto the lever which opened a door. Link quickly exterminated the bat-like Kees that flew about with his slingshot then entered the next room, a blast of heat unbalancing him for a moment.  
  
Two Lizalfos appeared suddenly, making the kokiri blink in mute surprise. The lizard men jumped around him with an awkward grace, sharpened knives glittering dangerously in their equally fearsome claws. Link grabbed his kokiri sword and hylian shield, prepared to fight a long battle.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
After watching the two lizard men fade into nothingness, Link realized he was in trouble, a quick glance at his side confirming his fears. A long gash ran from around his third rib down to his hip, it bled profusely, warm droplets splattering onto the ground. He flinched, instinctively reaching for a healing fairy that he didn't have.  
  
Uttering a strangled curse and clutching his side to slow the blood's steady flow, he said, "Navi we have to get to the Gorons, now."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon concentrated fiercely, sweat beginning to form on her forehead, "Come on." She whispered to herself, "You can do this."  
  
The old hag eyed her stance carefully, finding very little to complain about. They both stood in Hyrule Field, practicing a form of magic that had almost been lost within the passage of time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon had only been six when she had discovered the secret entrance to the Potion Shop, fascinated by a door that had suddenly appeared to her she had tiptoed in, and had found piles of books like she had never seen. Being a rancher's daughter she had no access to such things and was overjoyed at the aspect of reading something a bit more captivating than How to Care for Your Cucoo.  
  
No one ever came to the old potion shop so she had the place to herself, she returned every day adding to her knowledge, thinking of it as a secret hideaway from the outside world.  
  
Granny had returned to the Potion shop after extensive field study, to find a child skimming through her books on black magic. At first the hag had been horrified, snatching the ancient tome away from the child, but the dismay had quickly changed to surprised amusement as the girl determinedly took it back with a simple levitation spell.  
  
They had become quick friends after that, the hag instructing Malon in magic and patience while Malon showed her the joy of having a child for company.  
  
For three years they had worked on herbal knowledge and healing magic, but after the Stalchild incident Malon had been more interested in some more offensive magic. In the few days that had passed she had learned spells that could call upon the elements themselves, and although she was new to the concept she was resolute in her choice.  
  
"That's enough Malon, the wind is a fickle thing, don't strain yourself."  
  
Malon dropped her stance, breathing heavily and frowning. "I wish it would listen." She sighed, disappointed in both herself and the air.  
  
"It will eventually, it just needs time." The old woman replied in a gentle tone that her appearance denied possible, "Let's head back to the shop," she smiled wickedly, "After all it's your turn to cook."  
  
Malon rolled her eyes, "I may be a sorceress, but to you I'll never be more than a cook."  
  
"And a damn good one too!" the hag cackled.  
  
They exchanged smiles and walked back to the village.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Pain burned like fire through Link's side, sending waves of sickness through his entire being.  
  
"Link," Navi shouted in his ear, "You have to get up!"  
  
The comment sounded inane until the young kokiri realized he had fallen to his knees, he struggled vainly to stand.  
  
The Gorons had tried to help him, but they knew little about human healing, their own stone-like bodies had never sustained such horrible injuries before. The mountain dwellers had bound the horrible wound as best they could with little success. The linen strips they had substituted for bandages were old, taken from an unfortunate human who had taken a long fall off a jagged cliff side.  
  
Link gasped in agony as the poorly applied bandages broke, blood instantly soaking his tunic, warping the forest green colors.  
  
"Link, the village, you aren't that far." The fairy was almost hysterical; she couldn't lose him, her throat tightened at the thought.  
  
Tears streamed down Link's face, "I'm sorry." he whispered brokenly, disgusted with himself for the weakness he was showing. He was laying down fully now, blood-loss and exhaustion robbing him of the last of his strength.  
  
"I'll find help." Navi whimpered, determination creeping into her voice. He needed shelter first; she couldn't leave him in the middle of the trail, defenseless and unprotected. Her eyes found a hole in the side of the trail that Link had created earlier with a bomb and she began to coax him toward it, grabbing the stained tunic and trying to pull. As he crawled to the pathetic shelter Navi knew his time was short, a trail of crimson blood had followed his struggling form and now lay glistening in the hot sun. She would have to make haste, or Hyrule's little hero would not live out the day.  
  
Racing to Kakariko Village at an unbelievable speed the fairy appeared to be a blur of blue color, at least that was what Link thought as all consciousness left him and oblivion opened its arms wide.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon had prepared a thick vegetable soup, accompanied by warm wheat bread smothered in cheese, the smell wafted about the kitchen and her mouth watered. Now all she needed was a beverage.  
  
"Granny, I'm going to get milk for lunch!" she called from the kitchen.  
  
"Fine," the old woman replied, "There's a cow at Impa's old house, go there and get the milk."  
  
The young girl grabbed an empty bottle on her way out the door, running to the specified house only to come out moments later, muttering about having to pay four rupees for a pint of milk.  
  
As she walked back to the Potion shop she noticed a small crowd had formed near the watchtower. Her interest piqued, she easily slipped through the throng of people to see that they had formed around a fairy who was pleading for someone to help her.  
  
Malon recognized the small ball of light instantly. "Navi," Malon called to the distraught fairy, "What is it?"  
  
Navi turned and, upon seeing the young girl's familiar face, flitted over to her and began pulling desperately on her sleeve. "Malon please help, it's Link, he's injured."  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"Death Mountain Trail, he's bleeding badly." The pixie was on the verge of tears, her voice coming out in a squeak while she tugged weakly at her only hope.  
  
Malon's heart sank, "Go get Granny, she owns the Old Potion shop, tell her to go the trail." That said she started running, up the flights of stairs and past a startled guard. She turned the corner and made it onto the trail, freezing for an instant when she saw him.  
  
His tunic was pasted to his side with his own blood, his eyes shut tightly in pain while he made a desperate attempt to breathe. She knelt down beside him, a kind of sick fascination making her gently reach out to touch the injured side.  
  
'Blood,' Her eyes were wide with shock, 'How can there be so much blood?'  
  
"Malon!"  
  
The red-head turned to see Granny ambling toward her, a group of concerned villagers following.  
  
Granny knelt down alongside her, looking gravely at the wound as she put her crooked finger against Link's side, a flash of magical white light assessing the damage. For a moment the old woman was silent, almost as if she was contemplating her words carefully before saying them. Finally she shook her head, "He's too far gone, I'm so sorry Malon, there's nothing I can do." 

  



	5. The Sorceress

Malon heard Granny's words, heard them but denied them with a child-like certainty, there had to be some way to save him. Link couldn't die, not when she had just begun to care for him.  
  
"Can anyone cut the cloth away from the wound?" she asked, her voice soft and strained.  
  
There was a long silence filled with question, and then a young man stepped closer to the dying boy, taking a hunting knife out of his back pocket. The dried blood acted as an adhesive, attaching skin to tunic, forcing the man to tear the cloth away and re-open the wound. Link jumped slightly at the new pain, so Malon captured his hand in her own and, after a moment's uncertainty, let her magic run rampant over his wounds to ease the hurt.  
  
"Malon, you would need to concentrate for hours to heal that wound, if you try anyway you'll just hurt yourself." There was a controlled amount of anger in the hag's voice, but she was more worried than cross.  
  
The young girl just smiled slightly, resting her palms against the festering gash in Link's side and closing her eyes. She listened to the sound of his heartbeat, quickening her own pulse to match the pace. In her mind's eyes she identified all the blood that was slowly oozing out of the injury and imagined it stopping and slowly running back into the veins. Next she envisioned the veins coming back together, the muscles wrapping back around the ribs, renewed.  
  
The people of Kakariko watched in amazement as the boy's side began to rebuild itself, strands of white magic flowing from the young sorceress' fingers. Several of the threads bound themselves to the healed muscles and veins, making them permanent, the rest of the magical cords liquefied and turned to blood, restoring all that which had been spilled on the ground.  
  
Perspiration trickled down Malon's face, stinging her eyes for a moment when she opened them. Link stared back at her, unruly blonde hair falling into cerulean eyes while the rest of his face displayed his confusion. His breathing was returning to normal, his pale face gaining more color.  
  
Relief flooded her and she tried to smile, but faltered as a wave of dizziness hit her and she fell forward. Blackness swam at the edge of her vision and she tried to stand only to realize her limbs wouldn't respond. Several people starting talking at once and Malon made out Granny shouting something unintelligible above the clamor. A sudden, sharp pain hit her squarely in the chest and she fell fully into the comfort of unconsciousness.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There were voices, garbled and disembodied, they seemed to be whispering and Malon had to strive to hear.  
  
"She nearly died, her heart stopped and I had to shock her with a lightning spell to start it up again."  
  
"Thank ya, will she be alright now?"  
  
"I think so, just don't let her try another magic spell for a while, she drained herself to the point of death and her power will take a while to build itself back up." Granny paused, then began speaking again, her tone troubled, "I must apologize to you Talon, I should never have taught her to do such things, she was far too young when we began and she still is now. Perhaps if I-"  
  
"I don't blame ya." Her father interrupted softly, "Prob'ly better that ya did teach her to control it, rather than lettin' her run 'round with it unbridled."  
  
There was silence for a few moments, then, "She's far surpassed myself magically you know," Granny's voice was unusually quiet, "Talon, your daughter brought that boy back from Death's Gate, she may very well be the most powerful sorceress in all of Hyrule."  
  
Malon heard a bit more of the conversation before she fell back asleep, her tired mind comprehending only once thing. She was alive.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Talon was on the very edge of his sanity. Malon had been out cold for almost a week now; she hadn't so much as mumbled gibberish in her sleep.  
  
The Old Potion shop keeper and the young kokiri had stayed for the first few days, but eventually they had to leave. After all, the potion shop needed to be reopened and the world required to be saved. Talon, however, closed down Lon Lon Ranch so that he could tend to his daughter's needs until she recovered.  
  
He just wished he knew how long that would take.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Goron's Ruby was now in Link's possession; one more spiritual stone and his little quest would be over. Zelda could seal the Sacred Place or whatever it was called from Ganondorf and the world would once again be safe.  
  
Then why did he feel so bad?  
  
Navi had noticed the rapid decline in her partner's humor and mood, he had been hard to converse with before but now it was damn near impossible to hold a discussion without him becoming snappish. She noticed that he tapped his side every once in a while, as if he was making sure it was really healed, and realized that he was probably just nervous.  
  
"Zora's Domain is our next stop." She reminded him, and then waited for a response. Link simply nodded. Navi was partly correct in her observation, Link was nervous, but he also felt guilty. Malon had basically brought him back to life, had almost traded her own life to do so, and he had just left her in an undetermined state.  
  
His eyes softened as he recalled the look of relief that had flooded her dark blue eyes when she realized she had saved him, and he felt his heart race. He stopped running suddenly and Navi had to stop very quickly to avoid crashing into him.  
  
"Navi," he said cautiously, his voice quiet, "Do you think we could stop by the ranch?"  
  
The fairy blinked in surprise, then comprehension dawned and she smiled, "Depends,"  
  
"On what?" the young hero asked.  
  
"Why you want to go there."  
  
"I have an empty bottle, I figured we could get some milk." He sounded irritated, "Do I need an excuse for everything?"  
  
"You wouldn't if you'd just tell me the truth."  
  
He scowled at her then rolled his eyes, pawing at the ground with the worn toe of his tan boots, "I want to go see if she's awake."  
  
"Who's she?" the fairy giggled tauntingly.  
  
"Don't push it." He growled, changing his course and running toward Lon Lon Ranch.  
  
'Maybe now he'll be more agreeable.' She thought to herself, smiling happily. 


	6. First Kiss

The young man screamed in agony as the bolt of black lightning tore his chest apart. He fell to the ground, gasping, sword falling from his suddenly nerveless fingers.  
  
Malon reached out for him, already concentrating on a healing spell, she touched the wound and waited. Nothing happened. She looked at her hands in horror, why wasn't her magic working?  
  
Death glazed the cerulean eyes that stared up at her, but still he tried to smile, to comfort her as he lay dying upon the floor. She grasped his hand, once again calling to the magic that wouldn't respond, crying at how hopeless the situation seemed. He weakly wiped her tears away, trying to smile and ending up coughing up blood instead, he sighed.  
  
"Malon," he whispered, his voice strained, "Do you remember the first time we met?"  
  
She nodded, trying to hold back tears, unable to speak.  
  
"I think," he closed his eyes and smiled, "That was when I fell in love with you."  
  
His eyes remained shut as his life finally slipped away, leaving Malon alone to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.  
  
"So even with two Heroes of Time, Hyrule will still fall!" a voice growled from behind her, laughing horribly.  
  
Black rage welled from deep within her and she screamed out a challenge.  
  
Burning eyes appeared out of the infinite darkness, "You can rant all you want child," the voice hissed, "But you will never win."  
  
Another bolt of black lightning shot out of nowhere, striking her down. And even as death reared its ugly head, she gripped her lifeless love's hand and prayed for salvation.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon awoke in a cold sweat, nightgown sticking uncomfortably to her skin. Not in all her ten years of life had she had such a nightmare.  
  
She realized that the man who had claimed he loved her was also the man who she had dreamed about the day before she had met Link. A notion stirred at the back of her mind, but she couldn't prod it enough to come forward and become obvious.  
  
A soft click broke her concentration, her pointed ears twitching slightly at the sound, and she instinctively wrapped the blanket closer around herself.  
  
The door opened slowly and a pair of blue eyes peered questioningly into the room, Navi flitted in ahead of her partner, "Sorry Link, sleeping beauty already woke up, the time to play Prince Charming has passed."  
  
The young hero rolled his eyes, but not before a faint blush stained his cheeks.  
  
The fairy settled herself on Malon's shoulder, crossing her legs she remarked, "You've been asleep for quite a while, do you feel all right?"  
  
Malon frowned, "How long have I been out? Daddy wouldn't tell me when I first asked him."  
  
"I think he said a week." Link offered, taking a chair from the table and pulling it near her bed.  
  
There was a blur of colors and both boy and fairy were left blinking blankly at the empty spot that had once been Malon. Navi hovered in the air a moment longer before falling into the rumpled covers of the bed. Link smiled slightly at the cursing fairy then turned to the young sorceress who was pulling a dress out of her closet.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked, holding back a chuckle at her apparent state of disarray.  
  
"Daddy and Ingo need my help running the ranch," she explained while attempting to pull a simple white dress over her head, "They must be so behind!"  
  
He couldn't help it, he laughed, "First of all," he began, getting out of the chair and walking toward her, "Talon shut down the ranch to take care of you."  
  
"Why did he do that, doesn't he know about taxes?" she squeaked, her voice muffled from beneath the dress she couldn't get over her head, "Why won't this damn dress fit?!"  
  
"Nice language, Malon." He said, obviously amused, "Put your arms up."  
  
Malon growled angrily, throwing her hands above her head and grumbling, "You didn't answer my question."  
  
"Which one?" Link snickered, pulling the dress down for her.  
  
"Don't get smart." She growled, adjusting the gown a little, and then she froze. She hadn't realized how close they were until now, their noses were almost touching and his breath was warm against her lips. Foreign feelings rushed through Malon, making her flush. She backed away just as the door opened.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The first thing Talon saw when he walked into the room was two blushing, shamefaced children.  
  
There was a moment of awkward silence, and then Navi snorted. The snort rapidly escalated to a giggle, the giggle to hysteria tinged laughter.  
  
"Honestly Talon, they're only ten!" she wheezed between gales of mirth, "What do you think they did? If only you could see the look on your face!"  
  
The tension faded, Talon chuckled embarrassedly, Malon grinned, and Link rolled his eyes heavenward.  
  
"Well you kids must be starvin', what would you say to a little lunch?" the rancher asked, walking out the door.  
  
Malon's mouth watered at the thought of food and on cue her stomach growled.  
  
Link smiled and ran out the door, yelling over his shoulder, "Hurry Navi, if we don't get there before Malon we might not get any at all!"  
  
Malon glared at him, opening her mouth to argue only to have her stomach growl yet again. She let the denial die in her throat and she sighed, running after him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lunch was devoured quickly and with great enthusiasm, the roast beef sandwiches and cool raspberry tea both gone within five minutes. Afterwards, Link was forced to tell Malon about everything he had seen in his journeys in painstaking detail.  
  
"You went through all that?" Malon asked at the end of his tale, "So the Gorons really don't eat children?"  
  
Link laughed, "Just rocks." He replied, and then looked up to see the sun retreating, allowing the moon to take up residence in the sky.  
  
She followed his gaze, "Why don't you spend the night?" she asked, continuing to look at the sky rather than at him.  
  
He turned to her in puzzlement, "That was a big change of subject." He remarked, but after a moment he sighed, "I'm going to have to take a rain check."  
  
"But it's already night, you might as well just stay." Malon felt the heat rise in her cheeks and hoped that it wasn't too noticeable.  
  
Link raised an eyebrow at her insistence, wondering if the ruddiness of her cheeks was entirely due to the sun. He shook his head, realizing how silly he was acting, and was ready to refuse altogether when Navi interrupted.  
  
"I would enjoy an actual bed for once." She said, glaring at him pointedly, "We can sleep in a pile of leaves tomorrow if you want, but tonight we sleep in a bed!"  
  
Link seemed uncertain, and Malon knew she was gaining ground, "You can have my bed." she volunteered happily.  
  
It seemed that had been the final blow, Link's resistance crumbled, "Where would you sleep?" he asked, sounding tired.  
  
"In the barn." She replied, then saw his dubious expression and rushed to assure, "I usually sleep out there anyway."  
  
"Then it's settled." Navi said in a no-nonsense tone of voice, grabbing a night-cap and a teddy bear out of thin air. "Goodnight kiddies, don't do anything I wouldn't do."  
  
The fairy disappeared into the house, and Link gave Malon a defeated smile, "You sure you want to sleep in the barn?" he attempted one last time.  
  
"Don't worry about it." She giggled, ushering him toward the door. "See you in the morning."  
  
Malon ran toward the barn, pleased with herself for keeping Link safe, if only for one night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It was later that night that Malon heard it; the sound had floated softly into the barn awakening her from a light sleep. She got up and opened the door, walking outside and following the strange melody.  
  
Link stood in the middle of the field, playing the tune in a roundelay, repeating the same set of notes yet making it sound intricate. She noticed a faint purple light emanating from him as she made her way across the field, making the already odd scene seem surreal.  
  
The music stopped, he was looking at her now, taking the ocarina away from his lips, the glow fading.  
  
"What was that song?" she asked softly, unsure if she was dreaming or not.  
  
"A lullaby." He answered, smiling slightly at her sleepiness, "The Royal Family's song."  
  
"It's beautiful." She breathed, "Do you think you could teach me how to sing it?"  
  
He nodded hesitantly and played it once again, allowing her to get the hang of the odd tune.  
  
Her voice was unsure at first, but as she continued the sound grew in volume. A faint purple light began to shimmer around her and she stopped, turning to see Link's approval.  
  
"Now I'll teach you a song." Malon said brightly, "It's called Epona's song; it might be of use to you later."  
  
Link listened attentively then tried it himself. He played the ocarina masterfully, she clapped at the perfection.  
  
"I wanted to thank you Malon." He whispered, halting the applause, "For everything you've done."  
  
"I didn't do that much." She stuttered, taken aback at the new subject, falling back upon her natural modesty.  
  
Link gestured to his healed side, "You saved my life, I consider that to be worth thanking someone for."  
  
She stared at the ground, too nervous to meet his eyes, and unsure how to respond. A 'you're welcome' seemed inappropriate, so she let the seconds tick by and after a eternity she finally looked up at him, wondering if he was still even there.  
  
And that was when he kissed her. It was just a gentle brush against her lips, lacking in both passion and grace, but there was a lovely sweetness to it. Link pulled away to look at her shocked expression, and then grinned lopsidedly.  
  
"Goodnight." he murmured dreamily, turning and walking toward the house.  
  
Malon waited until she heard the door shut, and then she reached up and touched her lips. The tingling feelings had again invaded her stomach and chest, demanding attention that she could no longer afford to deny. She ambled toward the barn, eager to talk with Epona about her first kiss.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: That has got to be the most fluff I have ever placed in a fanfic, wow what a pointless chapter. Well eventually the whole exchange of songs thing will work to my advantage, and all you people who asked for romance should be marginally content. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.  


– Ourania

  



	7. Confessions and Cures

Malon ran up the stairs, a tray of food precariously balanced in one hand as she knocked on the door.  
  
"Link I brought breakfast." She chirped, "Are you awake?"  
  
Silence met her question; she frowned and opened the door, her presence greeted by a vacant room. The bed was made, the room itself looking untouched. A sheet of paper rested on the table, words scrawled across its front in dark ink. The young girl set down the tray and picked it up, confusion evident on her face, it read:  
  
Dear Malon,  
  
I'm sorry that we had to leave so quickly, something just came up. Navi and I thank you for putting up with us; once our journey is over we will come and visit.  
  
Link and Navi  
  
She stared at the note for a long time, examining it for hidden meanings. What could have come up so suddenly? Had Link regretted kissing her last night and left early to avoid her? The possibilities hurt so she tucked them away with a heartfelt sigh and picked up the tray on her way out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Three days had passed and Lon Lon Ranch was up and running smoothly once again. Milk deliveries had been taken care of, horses groomed, stables mucked out, and chickens fed. Malon was left with nothing else to do.  
  
"Dad, I think I'm going to Kakariko and visit Granny, ok?"  
  
Talon had been collecting eggs in the barn but upon hearing her announcement he turned to look at her uncertainly, his hand hovering just above an egg in a chicken's nest. He recalled how her last visit to the village had ended with her laying unconscious in a bed for a week, "I dunno if that's such a grand idea." He cautioned her softly, going back to gathering the eggs, "You should prob'ly just stay home."  
  
Malon instantly knew what caused her father's indecision and rushed to comfort, "I've completely recovered from that daddy, I'll only talk to her for a while, then I'll come straight back."  
  
Talon sighed, glancing at Malon to see she did indeed have her puppy-dog- eyed-look on. "You have one hour." He stated, "An' I mean it Malon, if you're one second late I'm sendin' the army out after ya."  
  
Malon giggled, "I didn't know we owned an army."  
  
"Go 'fore I change my mind." He warned, then had to try not to chuckle immediately afterwards as Malon tripped over her own feet in her rush to get out the door.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The water rippled serenely around Link's form as he swam through Zora's Domain, a bottle that contained a note from Princess Ruto in hand. He wondered, not for the first time, how he got himself into these things.  
  
Navi was too busy greeting the Zoras as they passed to notice his frustration. She hoped none of them considered her to be food, Link had always said she looked like a firefly from far away, and she didn't care for these fish people to mistake her for one.  
  
The young hero ran up the stairs to the throne room, taking the note out one more time just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. It was still the same letter, in the same loopy writing that bore the Princess' signature. And it still said she had been swallowed by Lord Jabu Jabu, God of the Zoras.  
  
It was enough to make the kokiri want to kick himself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon arrived at Kakariko in record time, running all the way left her feeling happy and exhausted all at the same time. She strolled over to the Old Potion shop, calling up a levitation spell to get over the gate and to the door.  
  
Nothing happened. No power stirred under her command, her heart sank.  
  
She leaned against the side of the building and closed her eyes, in an almost meditative state she looked for the core of her magic, gasping at what she found. In the past the core of Malon's magic had been a tangle of different colored magical threads, woven together in a multicolored pillar that glowed with an inner light. But as she looked upon it now she saw that the threads had dulled in color and in quantity, the pillar that they combined to make was dark and unsteady looking.  
  
Icy fear gripped at Malon's throat, "What's going on?" she cried out, several people stopping what they were doing to stare at her sudden outburst. She took no notice of their confusion, too busy dealing with her own at the time.  
  
"Granny!" she called, standing up, "What's going on?"  
  
The ground lurched beneath her and white light blinded her, it took her but a few seconds to realize she had been teleported into the shop. Granny stood before her, looking at her anxiously. They were in the basement of the store, the living area really, where the old woman kept her belongings and slept.  
  
"Calm yourself child." She said soothingly, taking Malon's hand and seating her in one of the sofas. "It isn't as bad as you think."  
  
The sorceress wasn't reassured.  
  
"It's gone." She cried, tears springing into her eyes, "The core of my magic, it's gone."  
  
"It isn't gone dear." Granny said softly, "It's still there."  
  
"But why is it so dark? Why does it seem so dead?" her voice came out in a hushed whisper laced with bewilderment and pain. She was staring at the floor, holding her head in her hands. "What happened?"  
  
Granny watched Malon for a moment, sympathy welling within her. "When you healed Link it took all the magic you possessed." she had come right out and said it, she waited.  
  
Malon looked up at her dazedly, after a moment she whispered, "What?"  
  
"It takes days, weeks, to build the kind of power you unleashed," Granny was watching the girl carefully as she spoke, "It's to be expected that your core wouldn't simply continue running, it's probably trying to regenerate itself."  
  
"How long will that take?" Malon asked shakily, her mouth felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton, it was so damn dry. "It's already been a week."  
  
"Months, maybe even years, it won't recover over night."  
  
Words failed the sorceress, she couldn't even think straight for a moment. "Goddesses no." was the only thing she managed to get out.  
  
"I know its hard Malon." The old woman said, "I was in your place once, though not for the same reason."  
  
Malon looked up at Granny, slightly surprised by the confession, "What do you mean?"  
  
Granny sighed, "It's a story you might not want to hear."  
  
The old woman never spoke of her past with Malon and now that she was talking the girl wasn't about to stop her. "Go on." She encouraged.  
  
"It was a very long time ago," Granny began, looking almost nervous, "I was older than you are now, though not necessarily smarter. I had been taught the basics of Sorcery then, and I entertained the people of my village with tricks I could pull off with it. I didn't respect my magic as much as I do now, but perhaps that was because I wasn't as aware of what I was capable of with it then.  
  
"He approached me, with his charms and good looks, told me that I was amazing, that I had real talent." Granny's voice had turned bitter and she paused for a moment before continuing, "His name was Thomas, I had always liked him, I suppose that's why it was so easy for him to get to me.  
  
"He asked me if I could do him a favor, just a tiny one, then he would take me to the festival my town held once every year. I was naïve and eager to please, I agreed without even asking him what the favor was, stupid.  
  
"He insisted that I swear upon my magic that I would fulfill his request, it made me sort of suspicious so I asked him what he planned to do. He refused to say, I told him that if he was planning on hurting anyone I wouldn't participate. He said no one would get injured; I believed him and sealed my fate with a magical vow.  
  
"I met him later that night, the night before the festival; he came with a picture of a girl. I was confused until he told me what he wanted." Granny's voice was soft and sad, "He asked me to cast a love spell on her, to make her love him."  
  
"That's terrible!" Malon cried, her own problems long since forgotten, "How could he even ask such a thing?"  
  
"Please Malon, let me continue." The hag sounded tired, "I may not be able to finish otherwise."  
  
The girl fell silent and Granny continued, "I was shocked and horrified myself, I couldn't believe that was what he had wanted. I tried to talk him out of it, told him that I could give him anything else, but he wouldn't listen.  
  
"He said I had promised, I had vowed on my magic that I would do it, I couldn't back down." The old woman's voice seemed strained, "Couldn't convince him otherwise.  
  
"Her name was Elizabeth; she was a year older than I was, sweet and kind to everyone. Perfect.  
  
"I cast the spell; I took the choice to love whomever she wanted away from her." Granny sounded miserable, on the verge of crying, "She had never shone any interest in Thomas before, no one could figure out why she was suddenly following him around like a lost puppy.  
  
"It drained away my magic, left my magical core battered and bruised. I had been used. I remember how empty I felt; even now I'm not sure whether or not that was caused by the disappearance of my magic or because of what I had done to Elizabeth, a bit of both probably.  
  
"Months passed and eventually Thomas got sick of Liz, he told me to call her off. I wish I could have but my magic was spent, so he went to the sorcerer in the village instead and told him what had happened.  
  
"The sorcerer took the spell off and Elizabeth returned to herself. She was traumatized by what had happened to her, what I had done. She never married, hardly ever spoke, that bastard Thomas ruined both our lives in one day, and I helped him do it. I was the ignorant accomplice in my own demise and I dragged the poor girl down with me."  
  
Silence filled the room as the tale concluded; Granny had sat down in the couch across from Malon during the story and remained there, watching the girl.  
  
"It wasn't your fault Granny."  
  
"You're wrong Malon, it was and it still is."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link was getting really sick of this whole, 'if you want the Spiritual Stone go do this' crap.  
  
"How am I supposed to get inside a fish anyway?" he muttered angrily, glaring at the immobile Lord Jabu Jabu.  
  
"Hell if I know." Navi growled in response, not at all pleased with her day so far. "As far as I'm concerned the princess can get digested."  
  
"We need the Stone." Link said resignedly.  
  
"Tell you what Link you can crawl inside a fish all you want, personally I've been trying to dodge hungry maws all day, and the thought of willingly jumping into one is not at all pleasant."  
  
"Cranky, cranky." He murmured under his breath, then to Navi, "What about the princess?"  
  
"Screw the princess; I'm not going to leap into the jaws of a gigantic fish!"  
  
"This could be more complicated than I thought." Link sighed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Is there anyway to recover my magic faster?" Malon asked as she turned to walk out the door. "Anything at all would help."  
  
Granny thought about that for a moment, "There is one thing, but Malon it's very dangerous, if you're going to go through with it you must promise me you won't go alone." All the while wondering to herself, 'should I tell her this?'.  
  
Malon's assurance and promise were quickly said, she was eager to hear what she would have to do.  
  
"The Zoras are expert healers; they pride themselves on it, a bit too much might I just add." Granny looked at her enthusiasm and hesitated, then said, "If you went to Zora's Domain and asked them I'm sure they could find something for you."  
  
Malon's eyes looked like they were glowing, "Thank you Granny!" she cried, hugging the old woman around the middle. "I'll go check it out."  
  
The hag nodded, "Just don't go alone." She reminded her, "The path to the domain is a perilous one, so be careful."  
  
"I will."  
  
Granny teleported Malon to the gates of Kakariko Village, watching as the young girl waved good-bye and ran out.  
  
"Good luck." The potion shop owner whispered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So he's in Zora's Domain already?"  
  
"Yes Master, he will recover the final Stone soon enough."  
  
"What about the sorceress?"  
  
"She's still powerless Lord, and heading to Zora's Domain as we speak."  
  
Ganondorf smiled cruelly at the thought, "He'll learn shortly," the King of Thieves hissed at the monster before him. "Link and the little sorceress will learn what real agony is soon enough."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author's notes: So did you like it? I hope so; it took me days to figure out what the hell I wanted in this chapter.  
  
You guys may have noticed I changed the rating slightly and for those of you who are worried it's mainly just for language, and some adult themes. I don't think anything too serious is going to happen but I changed it to avoid getting bitched at.  
  
So review if you liked it or even if you didn't, I'm open to suggestions and will try to take flames as well as possible.  
  
Thanks again for reading.  
  
-- Alanna 


	8. Meeting Death

"Dad you don't understand, I have to go to Zora's Domain, NOW!"  
  
Talon flinched at the rise of volume in Malon's usually quiet voice. They had been arguing for hours on end now, neither gaining much ground. Malon had been growing increasingly upset and Talon was wondering just how long he would be able to hold out.  
  
Ingo shook his head as he listened to the raging argument, if he had been that little brat's father he wouldn't have let her talk to him like that, or so he thought as he continued to rake the non-existent leaves.  
  
Had Ingo been able to see her at that particular moment he may have reconsidered his quick dismissal. Malon's face was flushed with anger and her eyes glowed dangerously, small fists clenched at her sides.  
  
"Fer the last time I said no!" Talon growled, sweeping the floor with such vigor that he would later realize there was a dent in the wooden planks. "I hafta watch the ranch; I can't just drop everything!"  
  
"Then I'll go alone." Malon hissed, more a threat than anything else but the effect it had was shocking.  
  
"Like hell you will!" Talon, usually easy going, seemed to be getting taller in his fury, "I forbid you to go by yerself!"  
  
"Then come with me!"  
  
Talon's anger faded as quickly as it had come; largely because of the desperation that tinged his daughter's voice. "If I could I would, Malon, ya know that." He patted her head affectionately, "But we're still sufferin' from the last time I shut down the ranch."  
  
Malon's wrath had also been curbed efficiently, and now she was fighting back frustrated tears. Her arsenal of angry words failed her and all she could say was, "I know, I'm sorry."  
  
Talon sighed at the crestfallen expression on Malon's face, and then brightened considerably when an idea struck him.  
  
"I can't go with you Malon." Talon's voice rang out from inside the house. Ingo smiled and took his ear away from the door; it seemed the idiot had won the battle. He picked up the rake he had rested on the ground, then dropped it and went pale at Talon's next words.  
  
"Of course," Talon sounded amused, "Ingo has nothin' holdin' him back."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Epona wasn't very pleased at the prospect of Malon leaving without her for an indeterminate amount of time, and showed it openly. The young horse had refused both food and company from anyone except for the young girl, and even then the filly appeared sullen.  
  
Epona, however, was pleasant when compared to Ingo. The trip to Zora's Domain had been set for the next morning and as Malon prepared to leave Ingo sought a valid excuse to stay. Going to Zora's Domain didn't appeal to him and no matter how much he begged or cursed Talon he couldn't seem to get out of it.  
  
That, of course, served to make him more irritable than usual.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Link, I think this is a really bad idea."  
  
The young boy tried not to sigh in annoyance as he scooped the fish into the empty bottle. "You think everything is a bad idea Navi."  
  
"You do realize that you are trying to get eaten by a FISH here right?" the fairy ranted, drawing the attention of the Zoras who lazed about nearby.  
  
"Navi will you be a little quieter?" Link hissed in exasperation, "All I have to do is get the princess and get out of there."  
  
"Yes Link, that's all, jump into the maw of a colossal fish then come out the other end, fabulous."  
  
"You seem a little cranky Navi, is there anything else bothering you?"  
  
"Are you still talking?"  
  
Link sighed although he looked slightly amused, "I wish you would try to be more pleasant."  
  
Some of the fairy's good humor seemed to return as she retorted, "If wishes were horses fools would ride."  
  
Link growled back, "If wishes were horses I'd tie you to one and send it off a cliff."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Darkness, blacker than midnight washed over her, suffocated her. Silence, oddly deafening, surrounded her, dead air that could whisper no secrets. She stood in an empty void that had no visible floor or ceiling and that seemed to stretch out into a sinister eternity. Malon was unsure how she had come to this horrible place; all she knew was that she was afraid, and very much alone.  
  
Then a spark of light appeared and, gradually, began to grow and to take form. Shamed, the darkness fled back to the shadows. A song filled the air and banished the silence as the glowing figure took a step toward her.  
  
Malon felt a sense of great awe as she looked upon the glowing being who was so much taller than she.  
  
"Malon."  
  
The young girl's eyes widened slightly as she recognized the voice and a small sob rose from the depths of her chest, coming out as a simple inquiring word.  
  
"Mother?"  
  
Features were now present in the glowing face; sparkling eyes studied her daughter with evident care, noting changes. Her long, auburn hair was pulled back with a simple tie, and her small mouth was tilted upwards in a sad smile.  
  
"Yes honey, it's me." She said voice soft and filled with music, "I've missed you so much."  
  
Years of putting on a brave front for her father washed away and grief came back to slap her full in the face. Malon felt the tears rising.  
  
"Don't cry." Her mother whispered, wiping her daughter's cheek, "Please Malon, it won't help if you cry."  
  
"But how?" Malon questioned, slowly reaching out to touch her mother's face.  
  
"I came to deliver a message."  
  
Someone cleared their throat and both mother and child turned to see a figure in a black cloak standing near them. "Sorry to interrupt the touching moment, Fiona, but you only have so much time." The voice was masculine, deep and haunting.  
  
Malon looked at the man in confusion, "Mom, how does he know your name?" she asked.  
  
Fiona glared at the man, demeanor changing rapidly, "What are you doing here?" she demanded, grasping her daughter's hand and imposing herself in front of the young girl. "What do you want?"  
  
"I'm making sure our contract doesn't suddenly expire." He said dryly, "So don't get your panties in a bunch; I won't interfere until your time is up."  
  
"You're already interfering." Malon's mother growled, and then turned back to her daughter, taking the small hands in her own. "Malon, what I'm about to tell you is very important so you must listen."  
  
The urgency in her mother's voice was enough to make Malon snap to attention, although the astonishment of seeing a departed family member still lingered in the back of her mind.  
  
"My Goddesses' Fiona just tell her already."  
  
Another dirty look was thrown towards the man in black, which he didn't seem to mind in the least.  
  
"Malon, when you go to Zora's Domain you will encounter someone whom you must follow at all costs." Her mother instructed, staring at her daughter intently, "You must protect him and he will guard you in turn."  
  
"Him?" Malon asked faintly, "Who is this 'him'?"  
  
"Let me finish." Fiona admonished, "A journey will present itself to you when you meet him Malon, and you must take it."  
  
"You make it sound so simple." The hooded man murmured, tapping his foot, "You have one minute Fiona."  
  
Her mother sighed, looking into her daughter's open face, "There will be many hardships, but you must survive Malon, so much rests on your shoulders now."  
  
Fiona knelt and hugged her child to her, "Promise me you will try to endure."  
  
"I swear." Malon assured her, hugging her back just as tightly. "But I'm still confused."  
  
"If your mother wasn't cryptic she would be breaking our contract."  
  
Fiona made an obscene gesture toward the hooded man, which only served to make him chuckle.  
  
"Who is he Mommy?" Malon whispered, unsure as to why her mother was being so vulgar toward him.  
  
"Oh yay, introduction time!" the hooded man clapped in mock glee, "I am known as The Bringer of Pain, The Destroyer of All, The--"  
  
"The Biggest Pain in the Ass?" Fiona remarked brightly, smiling.  
  
"You just had to ruin it didn't you?" the hooded man growled.  
  
"Yes."  
  
He sighed, and then said, "In short, I am Death."  
  
"Death?" Malon asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. "How could you be Death?"  
  
"Is it my personality?" He demanded of Fiona, "Don't I give off a fatal vibe, aren't I evil enough damn it?"  
  
Fiona ignored him and looked at her daughter seriously, "You will awaken soon." She remarked forlornly.  
  
Death stopped his raving, a more somber manner now radiating from him, "Your time is up Fiona."  
  
"I know!" she cried angrily, "You think I don't?"  
  
Malon fought back the tears valiantly, "Will you come back to visit?" she asked her mother calmly.  
  
"I don't know." Fiona turned to look at Death who shrugged.  
  
"I'd have to send a petition to the Goddesses." He remarked, "They're sort of soft, they may agree."  
  
"Thank you." Both mother and daughter said simultaneously, and then smiled at one another fondly.  
  
"There are so many things I want to talk to you about Malon." Fiona said softly, "Things that should have been said long ago."  
  
Malon yawned suddenly, then blinked a few times in confusion, "Why do I feel so tired when I'm already asleep?" she questioned, yawning once more. "I'm sorry mommy, go on."  
  
Fiona's blue eyes saddened visibly but she maintained her smile, "Just go to sleep Malon." She encouraged, "In the morning you go to Zora's Domain, we can talk later."  
  
"Ok." Malon yawned widely, feeling incredibly agreeable for some reason. She lay down on the floor and closed her eyes, murmuring an 'I love you' to her mother before falling asleep.  
  
Fiona watched as her daughter's form slowly faded away, back to Lon Lon Ranch where she belonged. Tears blurred her vision for a moment before falling down her pale cheeks as she thought of what her daughter would inevitably suffer through. A hand on her shoulder made her turn to see the inky blackness of Death's hood.  
  
"You have to believe she will succeed." He said quietly, taking his hand away, "If you believe, she has a better chance."  
  
"You know how much this will hurt her." Fiona sighed, "Her soul is so fragile, the bonds that hold her to this world are thin because of her gift."  


"But she will prevail." The hooded Death reminded her, "If she does not, there will be no world to remain in."  


Fiona nodded slightly, disappearing into a ball of light and returning the heavens from whence she had come. Death tarried for a moment, watching as the darkness once again covered the empty void, and he wondered aloud.  
  
"What does Fate have in store for the Heroes of Time?"  
  
Fate, the weaver of destiny, smiled and gently tugged on another thin thread, but did not impart an answer.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon sat up in bed wiping away the last dreamy images with the heel of her palm. For a moment she contemplated the dream of her mother and the words they had spoken.  
  
"It couldn't have all been a dream." She whispered, "Could it?"  
  
"Maybe, maybe not."  
  
Malon turned to see Death standing uncomfortably close to her bed and with a high-pitched "EEP!" fell off the mattress in a tangle of blankets.  
  
"Couldn't you have come up with a better reaction? 'EEP' is rather pathetic, usually reserved for when you get caught picking your nose or something, not when the Lord of Nightmares is standing next to you."  
  
After the initial shock had worn off Malon found herself glaring at the cloaked figure, "I can see why my mother can't stand you." She said matter-of-factly, trying to regain some of the dignity she had lost in her tumble out of the bed.  
  
He snickered unpleasantly, "You wound me."  
  
"I hope it hurts."  
  
"Goddesses' you're just like that mother of yours!"  
  
Malon just smiled.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon stared at the waterfall in something resembling annoyance. The maps she had memorized from Granny's old books said nothing about this. She sighed and sat down on the cold arc of ground that sat just above the river, thinking.  
  
Ingo was muttering dark curses as he began to set up a camp fire. The sun had already disappeared, and between a chilly darkness and a raging waterfall it was quite cold.  
  
"I wish that stupid girl would hurry." He growled to himself through chattering teeth.  
  
Unaware of Ingo's pressing need to go home, Malon watched the waterfall while her thoughts inevitably turned to a familiar blonde haired, blue eyed boy.  
  
'Stop it!' she thought angrily, 'He left you remember? He doesn't care.'  
  
But even with that thought out in the open she couldn't banish his smiling face from her memory.  
  
Softly, without realizing it, she began to hum the tune he had taught her, Zelda's Lullaby. A pleasant purple light began emanating from her at about the same time she became aware of the doorway that was slowly rising out of the raging water.  
  
"Ingo!" she shouted happily, "I think I found it!"  
  
"Peachy." The ranch hand called back, totally ignoring her and instead attending to the fire.  
  
Malon frowned at him then turned back to the doorway that was unhurriedly disappearing. "The song must have activated something." She said softly, and made a split second decision. She glanced at the slippery surface of the rock door, sent a prayer up to the Goddesses, and jumped.  
  
She scraped her knee when she landed, growling a new expletive she had learned from her father just that morning.  
  
Meanwhile Ingo poked at the fire, oblivious to the fact that Malon was gone and that the waterfall had closed over a doorway he had never seen.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'Serene, that's the word, serene.' Malon thought as she examined the beauty that lay before her.  
  
The giant stone walls towered over her, torch light gleaming off their water smoothed surfaces. The water itself filled the glimmering pool and flowed down a steep cropping of rock to form an indoor waterfall. Creatures that vaguely resembled the crude sketches in the books she had sorted through stared at her with undecipherable expressions, almond shaped eyes tracking her movements. It would have unnerved her, had she been paying proper attention, instead she continued to observe her surroundings.  
  
"Beautiful." She breathed, looking at the rainbow that seemed to have permanent residence near the cascading waterfall.  
  
The peaceful moment was broken suddenly as a wry voice remarked, "Goddesses it smells like fish in here."  
  
Malon whirled to see Death leaning against a wall, twirling a scythe in one hand with apparent boredom.  
  
"Oh sorry, did I scare you?"  
  
Malon frowned deeply, she was very aware of the fact he was being insincere.  
  
"At least you didn't eep this time." He remarked, and then before the young girl could pounce, he pointed towards a stairwell.  
  
"I think you'll find what you're looking for in that direction."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link looked at the mammoth of a whale before him, feeling a twinge of nervousness. The giant wheezed with every breath it took, seemingly in pain, but interested in what this tiny mortal was doing.  
  
The hero pulled a bottle out of his pack and uncorked it, watching Jabu Jabu closely; he poured the fish onto the ground and waited.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"If going to see Lord Jabu Jabu can help me then you must let me through!"  
  
King Zora flinched as the announcement echoed off the walls, truly amazed. No one had ever spoken to him in such a manner before; this little girl was either incredibly brave or amazingly dense.  
  
He opened his fish-lipped mouth to refuse and have her thrown out when a figure materialized out of the darkest shadows of his throne room.  
  
Covered from head to toe in black, face hidden from view and a scythe in hand the figure took a step closer to the King.  
  
Malon watched in fascination as Death stood before the King, his back to her, and simply took down his hood.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link turned as a cry of sheer terror reached his ears, and therefore failed to notice the jaws of Lord Jabu Jabu slowly opening.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
King Zora's shrill scream ricocheted off the walls of his watery kingdom, making Malon cover her ears and close her eyes in pain.  
  
The screaming stopped suddenly and the young girl opened her eyes again to see Death had put his hood back up and that the King of Zoras was whimpering in fear.  
  
"Do you understand?" Death asked tersely.  
  
Malon blinked in confusion, that hadn't sounded like him at all. The icy tone sent chills up and down her spine and she hadn't even seen his face.  
  
"Go!" King Zora shouted, putting his stubby hands up to hide his face, "Just leave me be!"  
  
Death gestured toward the door that appeared as the King quickly moved his bulk out of the way. "Hurry." He said simply, then turned toward the exit and began walking.  
  
"Wait!" Malon ran up to him, reaching out to grab his cloak only to have her fingers slip through air, "What was he so afraid of?"  
  
Death stopped his descent down the stairs, but did not turn to face her. For a moment there was silence, then, "I showed him what would happen should you fail this quest." Death's voice was quiet, almost sad, "I showed him Death."  
  
Malon opened her mouth to speak but he was already gone, absorbed by the shadows.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Let me start this little rant by saying I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter. It's all school's fault!  
  
Secondly, I realized recently that I don't have a disclaimer on this story, so for all of those people out there who don't know it, I don't own Zelda or any of its characters.  
  
Reviews for this chapter would be appreciated though not entirely necessary. If you have a major problem with this story and would like to flame me you can email me at cute_sakura@hotmail.com. I would rather not have anyone take up my review space with rude complaints.  
  
Thanks to all those faithful readers out there, your reviews and constructive criticism make me haul tail to get this damn story posted.  
  
-- Ourania

  



	9. In the Belly of the Beast Part 1

Malon walked through the small tunnel, looking down at the crystal clear water which was quite the contrary to her muddled mind. Death's sudden change in character had not only confused her, it had disturbed her, and left her feeling unsure.  
  
"The entire world can't depend on me, can it?" she questioned herself for what must have been the millionth time. The responsibility she felt now was crushing, a weight that made the young girl's shoulders hunch over in misery. But even as her mind screamed at the unfairness of it all the more mature part of her realized she couldn't just do nothing and hope everything would come together.  
  
"Malon?" a quiet voice called uncertainly, halting her train of thought.  
  
She looked up, startled, the first thought that flew into her mind being that the giant fish could talk. But upon seeing the actual speaker her mouth dropped.  
  
"Link?"  
  
He knew he was grinning like an idiot, "Well, this is the last place I thought I'd see you."  
  
Malon's mind whirled and for a moment her duty was forgotten in a wave of warm and fuzzy feelings. Her mother had said she would meet someone important at Zora's Domain and here he was, smiling at her kindly whilst Lord Jabu Jabu's mouth opened to it's fullest behind him. The last thought did a double take and full comprehension dawned on her, an icy fear wrapping its fingers around her heart, "Link, behind you!"  
  
It was too late. He looked at her in confusion, turning in what seemed to be slow motion, just as Jabu Jabu decided to inhale.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Slowly, Navi became aware of the fact that she was hearing gurgling noises, sounds that, bizarrely enough, reminded her of a growling stomach. Cautiously opening her eyes she saw rows of large, sharp, yellow teeth and pinkish gums. Finally her sense of smell came back, which was almost enough to make her faint all over again. She gagged on the stench, a mixture of raw sewage and decayed flesh making her want to retch.  
  
She turned to see Link lying in a puddle of something gooey, his eyes were closed but he was definitely breathing.  
  
"What in the name of the Triforce did I do to deserve this?!" Navi cried, looking upwards toward the heavens, or, to be more precise, the roof of Jabu Jabu's mouth.  
  
"Navi?" the frantic voice had come from outside the giant fish, "Link?"  
  
"Malon?" the fairy called back, "Could you get us out of here? If you don't I swear I'll find a way to kill you."  
  
There was a pause (perhaps because the threat was being considered), and then a creaking sound as the mouth slowly re-opened to admit Malon's small form. She walked in, looking at Navi who seemed to be in shock.  
  
"Navi are you all right?" she asked worriedly, holding her hand out to the pixie, who immediately sat herself down on the open palm.  
  
"How?" the fairy demanded, "How did you do it?"  
  
Malon blinked, baffled, "What do you mean 'how'?"  
  
"That fish wouldn't open its damn mouth until we found another fish to feed to it, how did you do it?!"  
  
The young girl smiled slightly as Navi jumped up and down in evident anger, "Well," she said with a barely controlled amount of mirth, I just asked him to open his mouth."  
  
Malon shook Link awake as Navi hovered in the air, speechless, for the first time in her very long life.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"A princess, in this?!" Malon exclaimed, after Link had told her the whole sorry story. "Are you sure she isn't dead?"  
  
"The stench itself should have killed her." Navi muttered, pointedly pinching her nose shut, "So Linky-kuns where is this darling Ruto?"  
  
Taking out his slingshot, Link hit the uvula at the roof of the mouth, which, in turn, opened a door near the back of the throat. He walked through, leaving Malon, who blinked several times before asking, "Did anyone else find that odd?"  
  
Navi laughed, although it was half-hearted, "You haven't seen anything yet." She assured the young girl as she flew into the next room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You were right Navi." Malon whispered to the fairy as Link argued with the Princess Ruto, "This is definitely stranger than that whole 'door in a fish' thing."  
  
"You may carry me." The fishy princess informed Link, a tone of finality in her voice as she sat down on the gelatinous looking floor and pointedly crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
Link bit his tongue against the nasty retort that he knew was coming and instead glared at the young princess before picking her up. Malon frowned, both at Link's obedience and at the shark-girl's snobbish manner, and said all of this to Navi, who merely giggled.  
  
"Don't worry about it," she whispered to the young girl, "Once we find the Zora's Sapphire we can send her back home to her daddy."  
  
"I hope he beats her." Malon mumbled unpleasantly. She was acutely aware of the fact that even though the princess was talking to Link in her haughty tone, she was looking at Malon with very ill-concealed dislike.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The little group had grown accustomed to the reek of fish that very literally surrounded them, which helped with the fact they were stuck in Jabu Jabu until they found the princess' stone. Unfortunately even with that problem averted they couldn't seem to completely shake off the streak of bad luck that seemed to stick with them, no matter which section of Lord Jabu Jabu they were in. This was one of those instances.  
  
"Umm, Link?" Malon said quietly, looking uncomfortable.  
  
"Yes?" He questioned, turning to the young girl and nearly dislodging the princess that sat on his head, "What is it?"  
  
"Um, uh, well." Her voice was barely heard over the fuming princess' shouts, "I have to go."  
  
He blinked in evident puzzlement, "Go? Go where?"  
  
As Malon's flush deepened Navi laughed and fluttered to Link's shoulder. She whispered something in his ear, and a blush spread across his own face, "Oh." He muttered embarrassedly, realizing now how obvious it was.  
  
"You would be so clueless without me." Navi said loftily, smiling for all she was worth.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link nimbly dodged the claws of lightning that threatened to electrocute him while Ruto giggled nervously from atop his head. Malon, on the other hand, wasn't in the giggling mood.  
  
"This sucks!" she cried, barely avoiding the monster's attack as it lashed out at her. "Link can I have that boomerang!?"  
  
The young hero turned and saw the trouble she had managed to get herself in. He smirked slightly, then threw his new boomerang into the fray and efficiently exterminated the monsters.  
  
"I think we need to get you some weapons." He said, almost to himself, tapping his chin as if in deep thought, "It sure would save me a lot of trouble."  
  
For his 'trouble' he received a smack in the back of the head by a very angry little girl.  
  
Navi watched from a little ways off as Malon began her tirade of 'How to Treat a Lady' and Link with his riposte of 'Why Not to Hit the Hero', and couldn't remember a time when she had been more entertained.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next room they entered was virtually empty, which was a nice respite from the usual monster infested area. Link looked about the room warily, sensing something was wrong, which was forgotten the instant his eyes fell upon the shimmering blue stone in the middle of a platform.  
  
"That's it!" Ruto cried, thrashing about and nearly kicking Link in the face due to her excitement, "Throw me up there!"  
  
"With pleasure." He murmured under his breath, despite the fact that his eyes never lost sight of the gleaming jewel.  
  
"Zora's Sapphire?" someone whispered questioningly into his ear.  
  
He nearly jumped, and then relaxed when he realized it was just Malon, who was still frowning at him because of their last little fight. He was relieved that she was speaking to him, but then his expression grew a bit troubled as he remembered some of the words they had exchanged. He hadn't even been angry at her; she had merely pushed nerves that had already been frayed by Ruto's constantly offensive remarks.  
  
He opened his mouth to apologize, and was interrupted by the princess who shouted more urgently this time, "Throw me up there!" which was emphasized by thumping him on the head.  
  
It was only after he had heaved the princess toward the stone that he realized what he had done, the warning bells in his head going off. No one left a precious object sitting out in the open like that, it had never been that easy and it wasn't about to start now.  
  
"Trap!" he yelled at Ruto, but it was already too late the stone was in her hands, she was holding it up triumphantly, brandishing it like a trophy and looking at him with pointed smugness.  
  
"We can go now." She said, and began to walk towards the edge of the raised rock.  
  
Link felt a little sheepish, his outburst from before appeared to have been terribly misguided. Malon was looking at him oddly, which made him feel inferior to an even higher degree, though, in truth, he wasn't sure why.  
  
A shriek of alarm made him turn back toward Ruto, and his eyes widened to see the platform rising out of the ground and upwards with a deliberate slowness. The princess disappeared from sight as the floor became one with the ceiling, although her scream was still heard on the lower level.  
  
"What is this. an octopus?" Ruto's voice echoed to where Link and Malon stood ready for trouble.  
  
"Goddesses, what doesn't this guy eat?!" Navi hissed, hovering close to Link's hat and ready for battle. "Fish, fairies, kids, electrified jelly fish and now an octopus?!"  
  
"Must have horrible heartburn." Malon said jokingly in a feeble attempt to relieve the tension that was already building in the air, the tension before a battle.  
  
The platform lowered itself back to ground level, making both ten-year-old children take a step back in surprise. Perched in all its repulsive glory was a creature that could have very well been mistaken for an octopus. Neon green eyes studied its opponents with care, and found them not to be much of a threat, or a good lunch for that matter.  
  
It jumped off the platform and landed with a large thud on the ground. From deep within its throat a strangled gurgle emerged, and with no other warning it charged.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Adrenaline surged through Link, and as his battle sense awakened he became more aware of the current situation. The details he had missed before became more apparent, a weaker looking point toward the rear of the Bigocto, the lack of battle space, and the very inappropriate cursing from Navi's direction. All of these added up to one thing, the approaching fight was inevitable.  
  
The size of the room had been greatly jeopardized by the platform, which now brandished some not-so-nice looking spikes as it spun about like the blades of a windmill on a blustery day. The situation appeared to be getting more difficult by the second.  
  
Link turned away from the oncoming danger, grabbing Malon's hand on the way, and began running in the opposite direction.  
  
"What is this supposed to accomplish?!" Malon yelled from behind him, fear making her snappish.  
  
"We're going to try and get behind it!" the young hero yelled back, grasping her hand tighter to encourage less talk and more running.  
  
The children ran about the platform in a mad rush to get behind the pursuing monster, and after several minutes finally lost sight of its hideous face.  
  
It was like some insane game of tag in Navi's opinion; no one seemed to know who was it. Both parties appeared to be running in the direction of each other while trying frantically to get away. It would have been amusing if it hadn't been a game of life and death.  
  
Link had managed to get close enough to Bigocto's back to hit the weak spot with his boomerang, and now slashed at it with his Kokiri sword. The monster growled in pain and fury, turning and readying itself to attack. Link, however, had anticipated this and had already dashed to safety, dragging Malon along with him.  
  
The hero continued to use the guerrilla tactic, hitting and running until the Bigocto appeared to be wearing down. The battle was almost over, and Link could almost taste the victory that hung tantalizingly close.  
  
A cry of pain shattered Link's elation, and Malon's hand slipped out of his grip as she fell to the ground.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She cursed herself mentally when she felt the sharp point of the spike dig into her side. The curse had turned into a scream that she couldn't contain as she crumpled to the ground, clutching at the wound to slow the bleeding. The spiked platform continued to spin around, her blood spinning along with it.  
  
She turned and saw the Monster quickly descending, hungry for more screams of pain, eyes cold and cruel.  
  
Malon tried to stand but to no avail, the pain causing her to double over.  
  
Then out of the corner of her eye she saw him.  
  
Death, scythe in hand and head bowed, stood above her, emotions hidden within the blackness of his hood. He said nothing, only watched Malon and waited. His cloak billowed slightly in a wind that no one else felt adding to his already solemn disposition.  
  
A strange calm settled itself over her, the pain eased slightly, and her muddled thoughts became clear as the water of Zora's Domain.  
  
She was going to die.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Well reviews from my last few chapters have told me what I've been doing wrong. I promise to try to be more in character with a couple of ten-year-old kids but in my defense I cursed that much when I was ten! Umm. wait bad example.  
  
I'd like to give a special thanks to Girl With Many Names, Urazz_Izymne (haven't heard from you lately.), and The Pilot, your criticism has helped, (although the writing still sucks) and I love hearing from you. If I keep getting reviews like this I may never stop writing! *insert evil laugh here*  
  
Side note: Sorry for the whole 'Part 1' thing, but I wanted to get this posted before Finals start, and I have an essay to write on the Scarlet Ibis, that I have not even started... so I'm making it into two parts. I promise to try and finish the next part as soon as possible. *Sighs* ever notice how when you have the beginning and the end of a story figured out the middle always messes you up? 


	10. In the Belly of the Beast Part 2

Time seemed to slow down, freeze in place as it often does during times of crisis. The seconds ticked by and Link watched in dread as the monster descended toward Malon's prone form.  
  
He began running, his feet flying across the water-covered floor while his mind hissed at him, contemptuously repeating, 'What will you do if she dies?'  
  
He was in front of her now, his shield thrown up in a pathetic defense against the oncoming monster. He turned to her, finding his voice and yelling, "You have to move!"  
  
She didn't seem to hear him, her eyes still watching the air at her side intently.  
  
Pain surged suddenly through his arms as the Bigocto's bulk connected with his Hylian shield, the strain causing his muscles to spasm and perspiration to trickle down his skin.  
  
Yet he did not back down.  
  
His feet slipped across the slimy ground but he continued to push forward, refusing to let the monster gain ground. His eyes were narrowed in a deadly concentration, mind focused on keeping the Bigocto as far away from Malon as possible.  
  
But Link was tiring, his small form failing against such odds. His vision began to blur and darken around the edges as his arms began to numb against the agony.  
  
"Malon," his voice came out in a gurgle, "Move."  
  
Then someone began speaking in a tone mixture of sorrow and pity.  
  
"I did not think you would fail so quickly, I thought that you had a chance."  
  
A shiver traveled down Link's spine when he realized that the voice didn't belong to Malon.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Death's cloak billowed about him as he whispered those words to her.  
  
"I thought you had a chance."  
  
She stared at him, too shocked to speak for a moment. Navi had finally spotted what Malon had been staring at and her mouth dropped.  
  
But they both roused themselves quickly enough when Death, silvery scythe raised, turned to Link.  
  
"No!" Malon cried, "What are you doing?!"  
  
She half rose from the ground and tried to grasp at Death's cloak at about the same time Navi flew into his hooded face. Only air met both of their attempts, almost as if he wasn't there.  
  
"You can't!" Malon yelled, voice echoing off the walls, "You can't take him!"  
  
The Hooded Knight half turned to her, even as he stepped closer to Link, "His life force is wavering," he said quietly. "If I do not take him now his spirit will be trapped in Life even as his body dies."  
  
Malon began to shake, whether from fear or hopeless anger she was no longer sure. If Link died Hyrule's future went with him, the man with the burning eyes would win, and the Kingdom would be plunged into darkness.  
  
Malon tried to stand, to cast a spell, to do anything, but her wound had sapped her strength and her magical core remained silent to her plea.  
  
Tears of desolation blurred her vision and she bowed her head even as defeat reared its own.  
  
She had failed.  
  
Hyrule was doomed.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link watched with a kind of fascinated horror as the metal of his Hylian shield began to cave in with a metallic screech.  
  
He closed his eyes in pain as he realized he probably wasn't going to make it out of this alive.  
  
He had heard the arguing behind him, but hadn't quite believed his own ears. He hadn't believed his own death was so near.  
  
His mind froze for an instant and he gave a small cry as his wrist finally snapped under the pressure, forcing him to use his shoulder as a replacement.  
  
The finality of his fate made him feel ill even as he glanced at his ruined wrist, detachedly examining his own white bone poking out of bleeding flesh. Nausea arose in him when his brain finally registered what he was looking at but he beat it back down.  
  
He would win this battle, even if it were destined to be his last.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon flinched when she heard Link's pained yell and the sickening sound of bone breaking.  
  
"Please," she whispered brokenly, speaking to no one in particular, "Help."  
  
There was a sudden feeling in her head, like a kind of presence, and she realized that she was no longer alone inside her mind.  
  
'Look into the water.'  
  
The thought came suddenly, although it was soft, and with a start she realized she recognized the multi toned voice.  
  
"You're the one who helped me get away from the Stalchildren." Malon whispered aloud, "So you weren't just a stray thought, who are you?"  
  
'I am that which has passed but has not completely gone, I am The Sage, The Creator, The Mother, I am everything yet I am nothing."  
  
Malon would have laughed any other time at such a ridiculous riddle but now was not the time for laughter.  
  
"Why are you helping me?" she demanded, although her voice lacked conviction, strained as it was by her tears.  
  
For a moment there was silence within the confines of her mind, and she wondered if she had miffed the invisible entity enough for it to leave, but then the voice returned, 'You are the last hope, my little Ayin.'  
  
Malon blinked blankly at the last part, unsure as to what Ayin meant but not willing to ask.  
  
'Search.' The voice insisted, 'Search the water.'  
  
The injured girl felt confused but she began to sift through the water anyway, clouded as it was by her own blood.  
  
"What is it I'm searching for?!" she called and almost immediately after the last word had left her lips saw what she had been seeking.  
  
Three sky blue gems shown through the dirtied water, encased in gleaming gold and glowing with untapped power.  
  
The Zora's Sapphire, one of the three Sacred Stones.  
  
'It holds Power.' The voice within her mind said, 'You must use it.'  
  
Malon picked it up gently, cupping it in both hands and wondering if it was real.  
  
"Ruto must have dropped it."  
  
It took Malon a moment to grasp the fact that the person who had spoken was Navi. The fairy hovered over her shoulder; squinting at the object that had begun to glow even brighter the instant the sorceress had touched it.  
  
"Are you going to save him with that?"  
  
The desperation in Navi's voice rivaled her own and Malon felt a sudden certainty of what she must do.  
  
"I must use your power." She whispered to the Sacred Stone, hoping that somewhere deep within the gem understood what she was saying, "Will you allow it?"  
  
There was a soft trill of musical notes, like that of a flute only sweeter, coming from the Zora's Sapphire. Malon smiled brightly at the song, realizing that it had understood, but more importantly, that it had assented.  
  
As soon as the soft sound had died down Malon tapped into the power of the Sapphire, and felt an immediate response. Golden waves of power tinged with a bluish light flowed into her hands, circulating through her body, and awaiting her command.  
  
Holding the jewel before her, clasping it firmly in both hands she began to call the magic out.  
  
"Link!" she yelled above the fizzle of magic, "You'll have to move when I say so!"  
  
Link turned his head in her direction, face going slack with astonishment when he saw the Sapphire. He nodded.  
  
Death was watching Malon with interest, his scythe no longer hovering over Link. He waited.  
  
Navi surveyed the scene before flying over to Link, taking her place above his head and glaring heatedly at the Bigocto. She held her breath.  
  
The water around Malon began to sparkle and ripple as she called upon it with the power of the Sacred Stone. Water started to flow upward in great torrents, gathering about the Zora's Sapphire, forming a giant sphere of shimmering water.  
  
She held it there for a moment, concentrating, until the sphere took on the shape of a watery lance, its point sharp with deadly intent.  
  
"Now, Link!" she shouted, releasing the javelin of water straight at the Bigocto.  
  
When Link didn't instantly move she feared the magic water would hit him, but the young kokiri was still nimble even through his pain, and he shifted to the side quickly to avoid her attack.  
  
The Bigocto, taken by surprise at the sudden loss of equilibrium when Link had moved, was not so lucky.  
  
The lance hit the creature with a resounding thud, followed by a stomach- churning crack as the magical water pierced its hide.  
  
Bigocto blinked its neon eyes stupidly, shock taking over even as the viscid purple blood poured out onto the ground. The monster swayed on its feet for several seconds before falling on its side.  
  
A final shriek of agony escaped the creature, although it was nearly drowned out by the triumphant music of the Zora's Sapphire.  
  
Death glanced at Malon for a long moment before walking over to the Bigocto. Raising his scythe high above his head, he brought it down in a silvery arc, blinding everyone in the room for a moment with its brilliance.  
  
When Malon reopened her eyes Death was gone, the Bigocto was dead, and Link was looking at her with relief, holding his bleeding wrist close to his body.  
  
Malon smiled shakily, trying to keep the contents of her stomach down even through her nervousness.  
  
The voice in her head whispered one more thing to her before the presence faded from her mind.  
  
'When Death comes he will not leave empty.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"How did you regain your powers?" Navi asked curiously as she watched Malon attempt to heal Link's wounded wrist with the Zora's Sapphire.  
  
"It isn't really my power, it's the Sacred Stone." Malon said distractedly, "It's more effective than my magic will ever be but I can't control it very well."  
  
Malon had already healed her own wounds with the Sapphire and was beginning to tire from keeping the power focused. "The Stone kind of has a mind of its own, remember that music from before?"  
  
Navi nodded as she recalled the sound, "So the music was like speaking?"  
  
"Yep." Malon said, the word coming out in a great release of air, "It was saying I could use its power."  
  
As soon as Link's wrist bone disappeared back into the skin and the tattered remnants of flesh fused back together the golden glow faded and the Stone gave one last little trill of music before falling silent.  
  
Malon handed the Zora's Sapphire to Link and sat back against the slippery wall of Lord Jabu Jabu, closing her eyes.  
  
"Thanks." Link said quietly, following the young girl's example.  
  
"Just don't move it around too much." She warned faintly as waves of drowsiness washed over her. "It's still fragile, it will take a while to be as strong as before."  
  
Silence met her statement, both kids too tired to say much else.  
  
"I could sleep for a week." Navi declared finally, earning dirty looks from the children and laughing, "Knew that would get your attention."  
  
"Are you ready to go?" Link asked after another moment of silence, getting up with a great effort.  
  
Malon flinched, almost physical pain arising at his question. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."  
  
"Now hold on just a second!" Navi howled, tapping her foot in midair, "Why are we still going on? We have the Sapphire," she pointed at the gleaming gem in Link's hands, "Isn't that what we came here for?"  
  
Malon blinked and pretended to examine her ruined shoes while Link replied, "We have to get Ruto back, she may not have the Sacred Stone anymore, but we can't just leave her here."  
  
Navi opened her mouth to unleash a burning retort before she shut it again, seemingly to consider Link's words. The fairy glanced at Malon who refused to meet her gaze and sighed. Navi knew the young girl wouldn't have minded leaving the princess in Lord Jabu Jabu either but she wouldn't go against Link just to accomplish it.  
  
"We can't leave her." Link repeated fiercely, standing now as if readying himself to leave, with or without them. Then he paused, as if to consider something.  
  
Turning on his heel he walked up to Malon and placed the Sacred Stone in her hands.  
  
Perplexed and utterly worn out, Malon looked at him questioningly.  
  
"I want you to take the Stone and get out of here," he sounded as though he wasn't so sure of his own decision, "And I want Navi to go with you."  
  
"What?!" two startled and angry female voices rose in unison, the calm broken in place of a storm.  
  
"I need you two to protect the Stone." He explained, even as he stepped up onto the platform, "Only you know how to use it Malon, and Navi you'll have to lead her out of here."  
  
The platform began to rise into the next level and both Malon and Navi watched in a kind of stupor.  
  
"Be careful!" he called, just before he disappeared from sight.  
  
"Damn!" Navi cried, glaring at the bottom of the platform when it did not descend again, "I should have known he'd pull a stunt like this!"  
  
When no agreeing screams of outrage followed hers Navi turned to see Malon's soft smile directed at her.  
  
"What?" Navi questioned, anger draining away to be replaced be uncertainty, "Aren't you mad?"  
  
"He's just trying to keep us alive, Navi." Malon said finally, still smiling, "This was the only way he could think of, it wasn't very clever, but he did it."  
  
Navi sighed and glared up at the ceiling once more before sighing, "I hope he comes back alive."  
  
The smile faded from Malon's lips and she glanced at the glowing Stone in her hands, "Me too."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link picked up the crate and set it on the switch, wondering all the while if leaving Malon and Navi alone with the Sacred Stone was wise.  
  
It wasn't that he didn't trust them, it was just that he didn't trust the Zora not to take it from them by force, he could only hope Malon would have enough sense not to show it to everyone.  
  
He passed through the door that opened, staring perplexedly at the room before him after he entered.  
  
He spotted vines and shook his head, wondering what Navi would have to say about such things and climbed up.  
  
Puzzled for a moment he stood on the edge, looking around until he spotted a switch. When he threw the boomerang it hit something invisible and came flying back, almost hitting its owner. Link almost laughed but took careful aim and threw it around the invisible obstacle, just managing to hit the switch.  
  
A door opened and he hit the ground running, wanting nothing more than to be out of Lord Jabu Jabu. As soon as he was through he felt his battle instincts rising, the final monster had to be near.  
  
Apparently the Bigocto wasn't the only boss around here.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Barinade's jellyfish spun about, faster than before, and Link was just barely managing to dodge them.  
  
He threw his boomerang swiftly not even having enough time to aim. Even though it was a wild throw it flew true, past the barrier of jellyfish and into the middle of Barinade.  
  
The creature ceased moving and stunned, giving Link enough time to jump forward and hack it apart with his sword.  
  
Barinade screamed in pain as green barnacles began to cover its body. Link watched patiently, wondering if this was another attack.  
  
The monster exploded, green blood flying everywhere, covering Link and the floor.  
  
Link gagged on the stench, waving a hand in front of his face in a half- hearted attempt to rid his nose of the smell.  
  
He picked up his prize and began to walk toward the blue light to see someone had beaten him there.  
  
Ruto stood in the light, tapping her foot and blushing a bright shade of pink.  
  
"You're worthless!" she hissed, glaring at him as he stepped into the blue circle, "What took you so long?!"  
  
He pointedly ignored her, wiping some of the sticky green glue off of his clothing and onto his hand, which he found didn't make things much better.  
  
"I was lonely, that's all, just a little!" the princess said finally, looking up at the ceiling as they were transported out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link landed with a plop in the water, surprised to say the least, but pleased that the green guck came off; when he surfaced he was cleaner than he had been in days.  
  
"Link!"  
  
He turned at the sound of his name to see Malon standing on the altar of stone that held up part of Lord Jabu Jabu, waving like mad.  
  
He waved back, and started to swim toward her only to find the princess in front of his face.  
  
He gasped, which was unfortunate because he got half a mouthful of water down his throat, and backed away slightly.  
  
Ruto smiled at him, the blush still there but not as pronounced, "You looked really cool out there." She said quietly, getting closer to him even as he backed away. "Really cool."  
  
Link wasn't sure what surprised him more, the fact that she had complimented him or the fact that she had closed her eyes and was now leaning forward to kiss him.  
  
A wall of water suddenly sprung up between them, crashing down on Ruto after hanging in the air for a moment.  
  
The princess, sputtering water, looked around confusedly until she spotted Malon, clutching the Zora's Sapphire and grinning for all she was worth.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Awfully rushed wasn't it? But it's still nice to know people like to read this rubbish *Smiles at The Pilot*.  
  
Sorry this chapter took so long, (And that it's shitty to boot!), but I already have Chapter 11 in the works and I wanted to get this one out of the way.  
  
Thanks to all those who reviewed the last few chapters, and to my regulars who are very, very brave souls. I'm already up to 46 reviews! Hurray!  
  
Until I write again.  
  
-- Alanna 


	11. Ayins of the Old, Hylians of the New

Fiona watched from the heavens as the children hurried to the drawbridge, bright smiles lighting up their faces, laughter echoing in their eyes, even the fairy seemed less moody.  
  
She turned from her looking glass, no longer able to bear seeing her daughter so happy, not while she knew how quickly the happiness would fade.  
  
Unshed tears filled her eyes as she put a hand against her mouth to stifle the cry of grief that had escaped her.  
  
They didn't have a clue what lay beyond the drawbridge, what evil had begun to awaken.  
  
And they wouldn't until it was too late.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon noticed the clouds gathering in the sky as they neared the Castle, not the usual white fluff but dark and ominous shades of gray and black, seeming misplaced against a sky that had not long ago been blue. A light drizzle had begun to fall, enough to soak through her clothing and make her smile disappear.  
  
They stood near the moat now, confusion gracing their faces as they realized the drawbridge was closed. Link glanced up at the sky, positive that there was still daylight to spare behind the veil of clouds.  
  
Lightning lit up the children's faces for a moment and the distant rumble of thunder was heard, largely drowned out by the steady creaking noise of the drawbridge easing open.  
  
A deafening thud announced that the drawbridge had completely lowered, but before either Link or Malon could consider walking across a horse's whinny sounded out, followed closely by the horse itself.  
  
At just a glance Malon knew that the mount was deathly frightened. Froth issued forth from its mouth and the whites of its eyes were visible at a distance, white hide covered with the sheen of sweat. Another fearful noise escaped its throat as it reared, nearly spilling the two passengers that sat upon its back.  
  
Malon recognized the princess Zelda instantly, the glint of blonde hair and the wide blue eyes coupled with her gown screamed royalty. Malon identified the second rider as Impa, knowing the Guardian of the Royal Family only because Granny had often spoken of her.  
  
As the horse whizzed by, nearly trampling the two children in its haste, the Princess turned and threw something through the air.  
  
Malon heard it hit the water of the moat, but didn't turn until the horse's white form had faded in the distance.  
  
"They were sure in a hurry to get somewhere." Navi whispered, huddling on Link's shoulder in an attempt to avoid getting knocked to the ground by the rain.  
  
"Or to get away from something." Malon said quietly, feeling the fine hairs on the back of her neck rise as the warning bells went off in her head.  
  
She turned slowly, with a great reluctance, unsure as to what she would see and if she wanted to see it.  
  
Smoldering yellow eyes met her own sky blue ones, freezing her lungs and making her heart hammer against the confines of her chest.  
  
Before her was the man from her nightmares, perched upon a steed of midnight black, staring at her and then into the distance, searching.  
  
"Did a white horse come out here?" he asked, voice ringing in her mind and filling her with dread, he was real, not some horrific prank her mind had decided to play on her. "Where did it go?"  
  
All she could do was stare, eyes wide with fear, mouth dry as cotton.  
  
His eyes narrowed, the horrible depths of hell fire growing darker with anger. "Did you hear me, girl? Where did it go?"  
  
And suddenly Link was there, standing before her with his sword drawn and his shield at ready. The man with the burning eyes turned away from her to look at this new comer, a kind of recognition followed by dark amusement showing openly on his face.  
  
"Brave," he growled, holding up his hand and throwing a ball of dark energy toward Link, "But stupid."  
  
The darkness hit Link's shield with a burst of light, knocking him to the ground. He rolled to the side, prepared for another attack, although not quite steady enough to stand and meet it when it came.  
  
The evil eyes were once again turned upon Malon, "We will meet again." He said with a wicked smirk before burying his heels into his horse's side.  
  
The horse took off; leaving Malon behind to help Link up and to wonder what else could possibly go wrong.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link searched the moat for a few minutes, trying to find whatever it was Zelda had thrown back to him.  
  
Malon pondered quietly to herself while she waited for him, her eyes half closed in thought, sitting cross-legged upon the dewy ground.  
  
The man from her nightmares, Ganondorf, Link had called him, had disturbed her in a way very few things could. The eyes that had for so long been seared into her memory were now held in place by an even more frightening face.  
  
"I hope nothing else from my dreams decide to visit." She murmured, tracing a circle in the wet grass with an index finger, "I think I'd go mad."  
  
Link surfaced suddenly, eyes fairly glowing with glee.  
  
"Find something good?" Malon asked, cocking her head to one side questioningly.  
  
"Better than good." Link replied triumphantly, crawling out of the water, "She left a message with it too."  
  
Malon blinked in surprise, more curious now. "What is it?"  
  
Link smiled, a kind of impish delight showing clearly in his blue eyes as he showed her his slightly waterlogged prize.  
  
An ocarina.  
  
The world tilted at a strange angle when Malon saw it, and she felt something click within her mind, something that seemed fuzzy and unreal.  
  
The ocarina, the fairy, the mischievous light that had lit his eyes all made sense in a way that hadn't occurred to her before.  
  
Link was the young man from her dreams, the one who had smiled at her, whispered her secrets, and told her that he loved her.  
  
The one that had died in her arms.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Malon?"  
  
She opened her eyes to realize the world had stopped spinning and that Link was holding her, face portraying his alarm.  
  
"I'm okay." She whispered, not sure who she was trying to assure more, Link or herself.  
  
"What happened?" he questioned softly, letting her go grudgingly, "You almost passed out."  
  
She sighed, feeling his question weigh down on her heavily. "You'll think I'm strange." She protested weakly.  
  
Link smiled at her, "I already know you're strange, now tell me, what happened?"  
  
She opened her mouth, ready to tell a lie if it would appease him, but he held up his hand and said, "I want you to tell me the truth, all of the truth."  
  
"No part truths," Navi called from her hiding place within Link's hat, "We want to know everything."  
  
"Everything?" she squeaked, horrified at the thought. How could she tell them that she had dreamed of Link dying?  
  
Link nodded, suddenly serious, "Everything."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon took her time, quietly at first, not daring to look at him.  
  
She told him first of her dreams, of the older Link holding the ocarina he had fished out of the moat just moments before. She told him of the sword he had held, of the power it had carried within its deadly iron blade. Finally she told him the final dream, the one of his death, of her own.  
  
Unwillingly, she spoke of the Voices that whispered to her whenever the situation was desperate. The multi toned voice that had saved her from the Stalchildren, and Link from the Bigocto.  
  
She spoke of Death, the Hooded Knight, who worked by no set of rules, and who had brought her mother back to talk with her one last time.  
  
Carefully, one by one, she retold the events and problems of the last few months, trying not to leave anything out. Her voice was at a croak near the end, and when she looked up at the still partially clouded sky she saw that the story had gone on for several hours. The sun was beginning to settle itself down, ready for the moon to take its place in the sky.  
  
When Malon had finally gone silent she expected to hear contemptuous laughter at her tale, some scornful remark or a pitying cry of how insane she was, but instead was surprised with a tension filled hush.  
  
"That's everything." She said, looking up to see the shock on both her companions' faces. They hadn't doubted a word of what she had said, she realized, but they were having problems digesting it.  
  
"What do you think?" Link asked the fairy, gaze still locked on Malon who was trying to hide her face behind her hair.  
  
"You said these Voices called you a little Ayin?" Navi quested, peering into Malon's eyes as if seeking something.  
  
The young girl considered it for a moment then nodded, "I was confused as to what they meant, do you know what an Ayin is, Navi?"  
  
The fairy nodded sagely, appearing somewhat shaken, "They were the first race the Goddesses created, before even the fairies or the trees, but I thought they had all died out."  
  
"They were created first?" Link asked, taking his piercing gaze away from Malon, "Is that all being an Ayin means?"  
  
"Don't be impudent," Navi snapped, flying back and forth nervously, "The First, the Ayins, were bestowed the Power."  
  
"Power?" Malon questioned, "But everybody has the Power over the Elements, it's just few know how to use it."  
  
The fairy shook her head, "The Power over the Elements is different from the Power the Ayin race had."  
  
"How?" both children questioned simultaneously, growing annoyed at Navi's nervous reluctance to speak.  
  
Navi jumped slightly, and then sighed, "They had the Power of Prescience." At the blank looks she received she growled, "The ability to see something before it really happens, see things before they exist.  
  
"The Ayins were the First so they were given the gift of Prescience, not only that but they were also directly connected to the Goddesses who created the World, able to speak to them through intense ritual, and, sometimes, the more Gifted were able to speak to Them with just a thought.  
  
Navi looked down at her from Link's shoulder where she had decided to sit in the middle of the telling, "But the Ayins soon grew weary of the Power they were given, all the happiness they saw in the future was drowned out by the sorrow, for they were given the ability to see not only others futures but their own." The fairy frowned, "It is hard to witness your own death, and it drove many Ayins to the brink of insanity.  
  
"The Goddesses, seeing the pain of their children, declared that they would take the Power away from any who wished it gone.  
  
"Everyone but a few brave souls begged the Goddesses to take away their prescient powers and the Goddesses fulfilled their promise, taking away their gift.  
  
"With the prescience gone the Ayins decided to call themselves Hylians, and learned the secrets of Elemental Power, which was less painful for them. The Ayin people who had kept their Power were numbered only in the hundreds and after several thousand years everyone thought they had died out, disappeared beneath the ground they had seen in the Beginning."  
  
The fairy fell silent, studying the young girl with a careful eye.  
  
"So the Ayin race became the Hylians that now populate Hyrule." Link said softly, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
"If Malon is indeed an Ayin it would explain her dreams and the Voices within her mind." Navi said. "The dreams are due to your prescience and the Voices are actually Din, Farore, and Nayru themselves."  
  
"You're wrong!" Malon snarled, jumping up, "I can't be Ayin! My mother and my father are both Hylian!"  
  
"No."  
  
The party turned to see Death standing not far away, his quiet contradiction ringing in everyone's ears. He was leaning on his scythe, as if he had been there for quite some time, but when they turned to him he stood up straighter, looking down on Malon.  
  
"Your father was Hylian but your mother was Ayin."  
  
"You're lying!" Malon cried, feeling the anger subside. "It's not true!"  
  
Death sighed within his hood, "What would I gain by lying to you Malon?"  
  
"If I'm Ayin then everything I dreamed of will come true! And Link will--!" she trailed off, not able to go on.  
  
"Link will die." Navi finished for her, turning to the young hero with a look of motherly worry.  
  
The kokiri was silent, seemingly deep in thought, while Malon hid behind the fall of her hair.  
  
"We should get going." He said finally, turning toward the drawbridge, "We have to get the Spiritual Stones into the Temple of Time."  
  
No one said a thing so he assumed everyone agreed and began walking across the bridge.  
  
Malon stayed for a moment, glancing up at the heavens before walking submissively into the Market.  
  
Navi turned to Death, "Was Malon's dream prescient? Will Link die?"  
  
Death might have smiled beneath his hood, "That would be my department, wouldn't it?"  
  
Navi glowered down at him, having the advantage of wings, "Not funny."  
  
He shrugged, "They can't all be gems."  
  
"Will he die or not?!" the fairy hissed, patience fraying from pressure.  
  
"Only the Goddesses know." Death said apathetically, disappearing as suddenly as he had come.  
  
Navi stared at the spot for a moment before flitting across the drawbridge after her companions, unaware that a pair of burning eyes watched from far off, thinking dark thoughts.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Rather short but I just wanted to explain some things before the story progressed too far. The next chapter isn't looking all that long either right now. *runs from angry readers* but chapter 13 will be extremely long, I promise! Just give me time!  
  
The Ayin race was actually born from a word I found in an old book. The word 'Ayin' really means 'foresight' and boom the idea struck me with a hurtful force. Funny how things pop into your head like that, huh?  
  
Just another twist in this winding road of a story, I hoped you liked it, even though it was a tiny chapter it held quite a bit of information.  
  
Thanks for reading this story, I have 52 reviews! *dances*  
  
Until next time,  
  
-- Alanna 


	12. The Guardian of the Realm

Nothing seemed to fit into place. The simple puzzle that had once made up her life had suddenly attained more pieces then fallen apart. Everything had suddenly been transformed and even the things that were familiar, the things she had taken comfort in the most, had become foreign to her.  
  
Malon's past hovered before her after hiding for so long in secrecy, finally ready to be found. And her future, clouded in a dark veil of uncertainty, hung just a hairsbreadth away, close, but intangible.  
  
She was jumpy, and although she dubbed the feeling nervousness she knew it was something else entirely. It shifted in the shadows of the empty Market and lurked in the dark corners of her mind. It was in the cold sweat the covered her body and chilled her bones, in the nausea that pained her stomach.  
  
It was fear.  
  
Fear of this dark and desolate place that had once been so vibrant and full of life. Fear for her friends' lives as they plunged headlong into an unknown danger. Fear of Ganondorf with his inhuman eyes and evil smile.  
  
But the thing she feared the most was herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link had remained a comfortable few paces in front of Malon, allowing her time to think. Even though he did not entirely understand her feelings, any female's feelings for that matter, he knew sorrow when he saw it, and he knew fear.  
  
He had reacted badly when the truth about her heritage had arisen and was regretting it now. A part of him wanted to turn to her with a goofy grin and tell her everything was fine, that he wasn't angry or frightened of her. But the other part of him, the more adult part, knew that she needed to be left alone, if only for a few spare moments as they trekked toward the Temple.  
  
So the silence stretched out between them as the sky darkened to twilight and the stars began to appear, tiny pinpricks of light amidst the blues and purples.  
  
Link watched them for a minute, struck by their magnificence, and wholly unaware of the fact that this would be one of his final childhood memories.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It took a moment for Malon to realize the only footsteps she heard echoing off the stones of the gray pathway were her own.  
  
"We're here." Link announced, voice hovering somewhere between the thin line of excitement and fear.  
  
At the declaration Malon looked up from her shoes, and saw the end of their journey towering menacingly before them.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Already having fallen into the shadows, the Temple seemed sinister in the twilight hour. The colossal edifice of stone and marble instantly reminded Malon of a dangerous predator, its dark windows resembling eyes in the fading light. It loomed above the small party with an intimidating intensity, seeming to stare down at them with rancor as they approached its broad wooden doors.  
  
Malon froze, the foreboding feeling becoming so severe it paralyzed her for a moment. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "You can make it." She whispered, "Just another few steps."  
  
Malon's eyes snapped wide open as the Voices of the Three Goddesses, having been mercifully silent during the march to the Temple, roared suddenly to life within her mind, their cries echoing painfully.  
  
"Beware!" they shrieked fearfully, causing her both physical and mental agony. "You must not enter the Temple!"  
  
Malon fell to her knees, scraping them against the rock pathway while grasping her ears. "Stop." She whimpered, clawing at her head in an effort to make the pain abate, "Please, stop."  
  
The Voices didn't hear her pleas, their screams only growing in intensity, "Beware," they continued, "For if you enter the Temple all will be lost!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon blinked slowly into wakefulness, and then flinched at the throbbing ache in her head. "What happened?" she croaked, surprised at the sound of her own voice.  
  
"Goddesses of the Triforce, Malon! You scared the crap out of me!" Navi growled, her faint blue light only making the young girl's head hurt worse.  
  
Malon groaned, rising up from her uncomfortable position on the ground with Link's help, "I feel like a horse kicked me in the head."  
  
"Are you going to be okay?" Link was careful not to raise his voice, for which she was immensely grateful, her head still ringing with Navi's frightened greeting.  
  
"I don't know." She murmured, now steady enough to stand. "The Voices all started screaming at once, it was so loud it hurt."  
  
"What did they say?" the ever impatient fairy quested, sitting cross-legged on Link's hat, looking ready to take off at any possible moment. "It must have been important if they were screaming."  
  
Malon glanced up at the Temple of Time, shivering at the sight of its colossal form before replying. "They said if I entered the Temple all would be lost."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You can't!" Malon growled, pointedly clutching his tunic, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I won't let you go in there!"  
  
"Well you certainly can't go." Link grumbled, trying to remove the forest green tunic from the young girl's death grip, "You said yourself the Goddesses didn't want you to."  
  
"If I shouldn't go in why should you?!"  
  
Navi watched them argue, surprisingly silent as she contemplated whose side she was really on. She knew that Malon didn't want Link to go because she was afraid for him, which touched Navi to her little shining blue heart, but Link had made a promise to the princess of Hyrule. He would keep the Triforce safe from Ganondorf, no matter what the cost. Navi was well aware that the only possible way to ensure its safety would be to enter the Temple.  
  
"I promise I'll come back as fast as I can." Link hissed in exasperation, "But if you hold me here any longer it'll take forever!"  
  
Malon's chin trembled but her blue eyes remained steadfast in their defiance, "What if you don't come back?"  
  
Link opened his mouth to make another promise, then closed it and looked at her thoughtfully. She stared back at him, tears brimming about her eyes, and he realized a promise wasn't quite enough.  
  
Malon blinked at him in confusion as he rummaged through his knapsack, muttering about organization before a triumphant grin spread across his face.  
  
"Here."  
  
He placed something in her hand, obscuring it from view with his own small fist. "Someone I loved very much gave this to me," He said as seriously as his ten years allowed, "I promise I'll come back for it as quickly as I can."  
  
Then, showing some slight signs of embarrassment and clumsiness, he placed a child-like kiss on her cheek, whispered something to her and then rushed into the depths of the Temple. Navi's soft glowing light followed suit, if only with a bit more hesitation, into the dark entranceway until that too was swallowed by the darkness.  
  
Malon watched them go, feeling both elated and apprehensive all at once as she glanced down at the gift in her hands. She looked into the darkness of the Temple once again, replaying his whispered words within her mind.  
  
'I'll come back for you.'  
  
Her tears fell upon the fairy ocarina in her hand, its simple wooden frame glinting in the pure moonlight, making it appear to be something more than a mere child's memento. It seemed as though it were surrounded by magic.  
  
And to her it was.  
  
It was surrounded by the magic of him, of his promise to her. The gift promised that he would return.  
  
That he would return for her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link had been in the Temple numerous times before, had seen the white marble interior more often than he could count in the course of the last few days. But as he looked at it now, the blood red carpet against the gray flecked white marble leading up to the alter, it felt different some how.  
  
"Come on, Link." Navi whispered quietly into his ear, "Let's see what these Stones can really do."  
  
He approached the alter slowly, dreamily, unsure if he was really awake anymore. It all seemed surreal, although he wasn't sure why. He had made it through his journey, had taken everything that had been thrown at him in stride and somehow overcome it.  
  
This was it.  
  
The three Spiritual Stones leapt out of his knapsack, burning with an inner light, they made their way to the alter and fell into the appropriate places. Emerald green followed closely by ruby red and ending with sapphire blue lined up on the black alter, their light shining brilliantly. When the magical glow faded away Link pressed the Ocarina of Time to his lips. He closed his eyes, and played the song that would allow him to open the door, the Song of Time.  
  
This was the end of his journey.  
  
The Triforce above the door began to glow gold, it trilled a single soft note which was followed by a deep rumbling as the door began to open.  
  
Link licked his dry lips in anticipation, secretly wishing Malon was with him if only to see him accomplish this final task.  
  
The rumbling stopped the door wide open at last. Link stepped forward, nearly hitting the alter in his anticipation to see what had been locked away for so long.  
  
Buried deep within the marble floor, silver-blue hilt glinting in the dim light, was a sword, magnificent even without being fully revealed. Link let out the breath he had been holding as he approached it slowly.  
  
"Could it be?" Navi's voice was soft with wonder as she flew around the hilt of the sword, "I thought it was just a legend."  
  
"What is it?" Link questioned, somehow afraid to touch it without knowing what it was.  
  
"The Master Sword." She quietly replied, "I can't believe I'm actually seeing it."  
  
"What should we do?"  
  
The fairy stared at the Master Sword for a moment before saying, "Well, I guess you pull it out."  
  
Link nodded slowly, processing the words. He reached out hesitantly, unclenching his hand and putting one finger against the pommel of the sword. A soft sound emitted from the sword, almost like a sigh, followed by several small chirps, making Link jump back in surprise. A few more seconds passed as he waited for the sword to explode or something equally ridiculous. When nothing happened he turned to Navi, only to realize she had taken shelter within his hat.  
  
"Why did it do that?" he asked the fairy, staring at the now silent sword.  
  
"It wanted to know who you were!" the fairy barked, "It was asking your name."  
  
"How did you get that out of those whistle noises?" Link quested, surprised that Navi had understood.  
  
"It was asking in the Ancient language." Navi replied quietly, "The one the Ayins used to speak."  
  
"So it was made by the Ayins?" Link backed away from it, feeling insecure. "Do you think Malon would understand it?"  
  
"Possibly." The fairy's reply was muffled from his hat, "She may recognize it but I doubt even her mother ever thought to teach it to her, it was thought to be a dead language over five-hundred years ago, long since forgotten."  
  
"So what should I do then?"  
  
"I should think that would be obvious." Navi sniffed, managing to sound haughty even though she was still hiding within his hat. "You need to introduce yourself."  
  
"To a sword?!"  
  
"Yes you ninny," the fairy sighed, "To a sword."  
  
Link looked at the blade, and, feeling utterly nonsensical, bowed his head to it. "My name is Link; I am from the Kokiri Forest and by order of the Royal Family, have come here to protect the Triforce of the Sacred Realm."  
  
There was no response.  
  
Link looked up, brows drawn together in confusion and irritation. Had he just introduced himself to air?  
  
"Navi, it doesn't seem to--"  
  
He was cut off by a soft, low whistle.  
  
Startled for what seemed like the millionth time that day, Link watched as the sword pulled itself out of the stone floor, blade coming fully out, only to hover in the air, waiting patiently.  
  
"What is it doing?" Link asked, looking up to see Navi peeking out of his hat.  
  
"I think it's introducing itself." Navi replied her tiny eyes narrowed in concentration as she listened to the whistled Ayin language. "It says, 'I am the sword of Legend, the Goddesses made me, the Ayins wielded me, the Hylians forgot me, and for hundreds of years I have guarded the Sacred Realm from those who would seek the Triforce for erroneous reasons.'"  
  
"Kind of full of its own importance." Link murmured, only to be shushed by Navi who continued.  
  
"'I have long since awaited the Dreamers that the Goddesses spoke of at the beginning of time, but tell me young one, where is your friend? There were supposed to be two of you.'"  
  
"Is it talking about Zelda?" Link questioned confused by everything that was happening. "Ask it if that is who he's talking about."  
  
A sharp, angry whistle followed his statement, and Navi giggled at Link's wide eyes, "He says he can hear you," Navi explained, grinning, "He may not have ears but he isn't deaf."  
  
"Oh, I didn't think--" Link began, only to be interrupted by a short agreeing whistle.  
  
"It says you're right, you didn't think." Navi translated, trying very hard not to laugh.  
  
Link glared at the sword for a moment, "Well is it Zelda or not?"  
  
The Master Sword let out a whistle which, to Link, almost sounded embarrassed.  
  
"It doesn't know." Navi translated, "It would have to see her, like it has seen you, to know."  
  
"Well you have bad timing," Link spoke directly to the sword this time to avoid insulting it, "The Princess Zelda has been sent into hiding because of Ganondorf, I don't know where she is."  
  
The sword hovered silently for a moment, seeming to consider Link's words. A series of whistles followed his statement and Navi once again began to translate.  
  
"'Then the times have indeed grown dark, it is different from what Nayru's daughter foretold in the Beginning.'"  
  
"Nayru's daughter?" Link questioned before he could stop himself.  
  
The sword, seeming displeased at being interrupted, let out a few clipped whistles.  
  
"It says that the Goddesses each left a child at the Beginning to watch over Hyrule. Farore left Time, Nayru left Fate, and Din left Death to govern the People.  
  
Time was the oldest, and therefore the strongest. He held sway over the past, present, and future, able to change the flow of it but not what happened during it."  
  
Fate was the middle child, the Weaver of the Threads; she could do what her eldest brother could not. She could manipulate, she could change the future by disturbing the present, cruel or kind as she pleased."  
  
The final child, Death, was the youngest and arguably the least powerful. He can cut the Threads that the Weaver makes but only with her permission. He can influence the past but only with his brother, Time's authorization. He is the most bitter of the Three because though he is the son of the powerful Din he possesses no real power himself."  
  
"You got all that out of three short whistles?" Link asked, blinking in surprise.  
  
"It's a rather odd language." Navi assured him, "The longest whistles are usually the shortest translated words."  
  
The sword let out a sharp, loud whistle to reclaim their attention, then began speaking again, making Navi sigh in annoyance as she was, once again, forced to decipher it's language to Link.  
  
"It says we're being rude." She smirked, "It also wants to volunteer to help you seal the Sacred Realm from Ganondorf."  
  
"How?"  
  
"It says, 'In whatever way I would be useful.' it also wants to see Zelda, so it says you will have to find her."  
  
"Great." Link sighed, "What is it going to do, hover around me? I'm sure it's too heavy for me to wield."  
  
A few whistles from the sword and Navi translated, "It says before you even think of where to find the princess we'll need to seal the Sacred Realm from Ganondorf."  
  
"Oh fine." Link threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, "Now how do we do that?"  
  
Another soft whistle, this one less smug than the others followed his question.  
  
"It says it will help."  
  
The sword lowered itself back into the stone floor, one last whistle echoing off the small room before it fell silent.  
  
"Well?" Link asked Navi, who had gone silent. "What did it say?"  
  
"It wants you to draw it out of the stone." She said quietly, "It says that if you are indeed worthy, the Sacred Realm will open for you."  
  
There was something she wasn't saying; Link could tell that she was withholding information. "What if I'm not worthy?" he pushed.  
  
Navi looked at him, small eyes troubled, "If you aren't worthy of entering the Sacred Realm," she paused, turning to look at the mute Master Sword before finishing. "Then you will be destroyed by its guardian."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Umm, well, that was odd, I must admit. I never intended to give the sword a personality, it kind of just popped out on the paper. Honorably annoying isn't it?  
  
I'm sorry this chapter has taken such a long time; I've been incredibly busy as of late, what with school being a pain in the posterior and all.  
  
The children of the Goddesses are something that has been brewing in my head for quite sometime, I just figured I'd start to introduce them before I completely forgot. Everyone who was confused by Death suddenly appearing, (The Pilot wants to know who he is hmm?) well this is just starting to explain things.  
  
The next chapter will be, more than likely, incredibly short. Then again this chapter was supposed to be incredibly short too, but now it's just, umm, short. So I guess I'll just have to see what pops into my head when I start writing it.  
  
Thanks to everyone who will review this, the comments really help, and I appreciate them more than you could possibly imagine. (I'm so lonely *cries*)  
  
Is it just me or has FFnet been screwing up royally lately? I tried to post this earlier and got squat!  
  
-- Alanna 


	13. The Unexpected Host

In their green forest the Kokiri watched the plants slowly turn brown and shrivel up in the throes of some unnatural death while their fairies grew dim and weak. The children of the Great Deku Tree began to whisper fearfully.  
  
Inside the stone walls of Death Mountain, Darunia, Leader of the Gorons and Brother to Link, felt his home begin to shake and shudder from something that wasn't entirely volcanic. The Gorons began to wail with dread.  
  
As Lake Hylia began to cool to an unusual temperature, King Zora heard his people speak quietly of the small chunks of ice forming within the waters of their domain. They apprehensively awaited the inevitable.  
  
One by one the children of Kakariko village began to awaken from their nightmarish slumbers, crying out to dismayed and startled parents. They watched hopefully out their windows for the sun to rise.  
  
Granny sat within her home of brick and wood, listening to the frightened weeping of the children. She sipped halfheartedly on a glass of lemon tea, studying the embers that remained from a now dead fire. Amidst the chaos in Hyrule she tried desperately to act normal as she prepared her heart for the end.  
  
Talon of Lon Lon Ranch called hopelessly to his horses as they beat wildly against their stalls, whites showing about their eyes while some mad panic overtook them. The habitually placid cows mooed in terror, battering the shed around them with small, sharp horns. Even the chickens that Talon so prized, squawked and flew into walls with a ferocity they had never before displayed. The rancher puzzled away in silence.  
  
All of Hyrule was in an uproar, death and destruction seeming inescapable, attacking all at once to hinder any defenses the people of the land may have tried to put up. And in the calm eye of this raging tempest was the Temple of Time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Malon had waited patiently outside the Temple, unaware that the rest of Hyrule was falling apart around her. At the moment all she knew was that Link had been in the Temple for quite sometime, and that he had still not returned.  
  
"What if he doesn't come out? Should I go in against the Goddesses wishes?" she said quietly to the empty courtyard, "Would they let me?"  
  
It was during her silent musings that a strange feeling began to creep along her spine, a subtle warning that had saved her from angry horses and deadly animals more than once.  
  
But the warning had been too late; his shadow had already fallen across the cold stone floor.  
  
"So it was the Temple of Time."  
  
His voice alone made her blood turn to ice and her skin crawl in revulsion. She had heard it clearly only twice before and had fervently hoped never to hear it again. She didn't want to turn around, didn't want to tempt Nayru's daughter, but she turned anyway, slowly, clutching the fairy ocarina to her chest like it was her life line.  
  
He stood in the darker shadows of the night, red hair in odd contrast to his dark olive skin. He was looking past her, at the doors to the Temple, a peculiar mix of awe and triumph lighting up his face.  
  
"The legends were true." Ganondorf's voice was unusually soft, "The Spiritual Stones of the Three will open the door to the Triforce." A grin turned his mouth upward, a smug smirk of victory, "It is mine."  
  
"No."  
  
Ganondorf frowned at the word and then at the little girl who had said it. "No?" he asked, piercing gaze locked on her petite little face.  
  
"No." Malon repeated, her body trembling but her voice strong, "I won't let you."  
  
The King of Thieves raised an eyebrow at her impudence, both amused and agitated by her attitude. She was too small to truly believe she could defeat him, he wondered who she thought she was deceiving. "I don't think you have much choice." He growled finally, pleased to see her shaking increase slightly.  
  
"I think I do." She replied, knuckles white from holding the fairy ocarina so tightly.  
  
"Enough of this nonsense." He growled, moving toward the Temple, hand extended to push Malon aside when she came within he reach. "Move."  
  
The young girl's eyes grew dark with anger as a gale rose up before her; a quick word from her lips sent the strong winds forward, slamming into the oncoming thief with a bone-crushing force. He was sent head over heels only through the air, eyes wide with astonishment, only to end up sprawled in a heap on the rocky ground.  
  
Malon quickly turned toward the Temple, knowing very well that Ganondorf was more stunned than hurt. He had been taken off guard by her retaliation, but she realized that she would not be so lucky a second time.  
  
"Ganondorf is here," she cried into the Temple, trusting her voice to carry far enough to reach Link. "You have to hurry!"  
  
White light exploded from inside the Temple and Malon realized that she was too late, Link had already opened the Sacred Realm.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link leaned forward, grasping the hilt of the Master Sword in both hands, surprised at how warm it felt in the coldness of the chamber. He sent a silent prayer up to the Goddesses and pulled it out.  
  
"Ganondorf is here!" Malon's voice echoed from the Temple doors, "You have to hurry!"  
  
Link tried to let go of the sword but his hands were frozen around the hilt, refusing to let go. A circle of blue magic surrounded him and then shot upwards, toward the ceiling, hitting it with a burst of pure white light. Link blinked furiously as his eyes watered from the sudden whiteness of everything, trying to adjust in order to see more clearly around him.  
  
Waterfalls fell from a black void at the top of the Realm, pouring down into lakes and ponds all around him. He stood on lush green grass, surrounded by plants of all colors and sizes. Several of them he recognized, heather, monkshood, roses, while others he had never seen before. Ancient trees of all kinds stretched up toward the darkness, growing huge even though there was no sunlight. One tree in particular stood out among the rest, its bark the color of burnished gold, shimmering so brightly it almost blinded him when he looked at it. The tree made the others around it seem insignificant, its own boughs extending into the infinite night sky.  
  
Link sighed, looking around for unicorns or dragons or anything out of the ordinary, expecting something more than a golden tree. The Sacred Realm was more normal than Hyrule, the young boy realized sadly, there just wasn't much to it.  
  
Sensing his disappointment, the Master Sword let out a few sharp whistles, which Navi immediately translated. "This is only one small part to the Sacred Realm," she explained, looking cautiously around as she spoke, "This is where Farore's son dwells."  
  
"So what do we do?" Link asked quietly, taking a step forward, "There isn't much-" He trailed off, and Navi, raising a small eyebrow, turned to see what he was so interested in.  
  
At the base of the Golden Tree was a black spot that the fairy had seen when they had first entered but had not paid much attention to.  
  
"Yeah, black dot, so what?"  
  
"It's moving."  
  
"What?!" Navi looked at it more closely and saw that it was indeed shifting. "What is it?"  
  
"A monster?" Link quested, taking a few steps closer, dragging a righteously angry Master Sword behind him, "I can't fight with this sword."  
  
He blinked as the black dot yawned suddenly, showing a small pink tongue and a few sharp teeth. A pair of almond-shaped green eyes opened and stared at him for a moment before the thing rose and walked toward him.  
  
"You're late." The small black cat informed him, stretching its legs out, "You took so long I decided to take a nap."  
  
Link turned to his fairy who appeared just as flabbergasted as he, "I thought cats were just supposed to say meow." He whispered to Navi, but the cat heard him anyway.  
  
It sniffed, small black tail flicking back and forth agitatedly, "I could meow but then you wouldn't understand me, would you?" it growled, staring at him with its unnerving eyes.  
  
Link shook his head no, so the cat began to clean its paws, "Well then, let's just stick with this language." It yawned. "Now I imagine you have questions."  
  
"Who are you?" Link questioned before the cat had stopped speaking, "What are you doing here?"  
  
The cat gave him a look annoyance, "I am Chronos, servant to Lord Time, and I am guarding his part of the Realm until he returns."  
  
The Master Sword began to whistle but a sharp look from the cat silenced it immediately. Navi looked at the cat suspiciously but Link had already begun a new round of questions, "Where is the Triforce? How do we seal it from Ganondorf?"  
  
"I'm afraid your friend, Ganondorf, has already arrived." The cat replied, calmly cleaning its face, "He is currently searching for you in a different part of the Realm."  
  
"Wonderful." Link sighed, "Has he already found the Triforce?"  
  
"No." the cat, had spied a bug in the grass and was watching it closely, "But he knows where it is."  
  
"Well where is it?!" Link yelled, patience running dangerously low.  
  
The cat jumped slightly, hissing in annoyance when the bug crawled into a hole and disappeared from sight. "Are you always this enduring?" the cat growled, "Or are you just feeling particularly hotheaded."  
  
"Just tell me where the Triforce is." Link said exasperatedly.  
  
"What in this room stands out the most?" The cat inquired, looking smug.  
  
"A talking cat?" Navi questioned, looking a bit self-satisfied herself, "Or is that normal around here?"  
  
The cat opened it mouth to display rows of needle sharp teeth, "I haven't munched on a fairy in a millennium or so," Chronos took a step toward Navi, "I've forgotten what they taste like."  
  
Navi let out a soft yelp and disappeared into Link's hat. "Don't let him eat me!" she shrieked into his ear.  
  
Link ignored her, turning toward the Golden Tree, "I guess you mean the Triforce is in there?" he questioned, looking at the pouting cat.  
  
"Bravo." Chronos cried out mockingly, "You aren't quite as dumb as you look."  
  
Link resisted the murderous feelings that arose, and instead said, "What do I do to seal it from Ganondorf?"  
  
There was a sudden loud noise and the ground beneath their feet began to shake dangerously. The cat looked unpleasantly surprised, "That bastard isn't supposed to come here yet." He growled, turning toward Link, "I don't suppose you could fight him."  
  
"I could." The little boy disagreed, trying to lift the Master Sword off the ground, "If this wasn't so heavy."  
  
The cat sighed, looking dejectedly at the dark sky, "Well you were right Kali, are you happy now?" it snarled, "It'll have to go as you planned, like always."  
  
"Kali?" Link asked, once again getting Chronos' attention, "Who is that?"  
  
"Forget it." The cat replied, glaring up at the sky for a moment before turning back to Link. "It won't matter in a minute."  
  
"Wha-" Link watched in amazement as the symbol of a Triforce appeared on the cat's head, glowing brightly.  
  
"We were too late." Chronos said quietly, green eyes turning golden, "Or too early, really."  
  
The young Kokiri felt dizzy, and the ground rushed up to meet him as he fell, unconscious to the ground. His hat tumbled off his head, revealing that Navi too had fallen under the spell the cat had cast.  
  
"They will sleep for seven years." The cat said quietly, shaking his small head, "It doesn't seem right Kali."  
  
"Have some faith in me, Brother." A soft female voice rang out, echoing across the Realm, "I think I know what I am doing."  
  
"I should hope so." The cat retorted, then grew quiet again, glancing at the sleeping face of Link, "What of the girl?"  
  
"I'm afraid Ganondorf hurt her more than I had anticipated." The voice of Kali replied sadly, "But she will heal."  
  
"Will they remember each other after seven years?" Chronos asked, tail swishing about the green grass.  
  
"I can only help them find each other, Brother." She said quietly, voice fading away, "I cannot make them remember."  
  
Another earth shattering sound rocked the ground as Ganondorf came another step closer to the power he sought, to the Triforce he had waited so long to grasp.  
  
The cat walked up to Link slowly, casting another spell and watching as the boy and the fairy disappeared to a different part of the Realm, protected by magic so ancient even The King of Evil would be unable to find them.  
  
"I hope it hurts." The cat growled before he too transported to a safe area, "I hope you scream in agony."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Hyrule fell into darkness, and the people into despair, thinking their royalty had abandoned them and their Goddesses had shunned them. Unaware that both watched their fate sadly from some distance away, waiting, hoping, and praying.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Yeah, well, that stunk. I think I just want to get this whole childhood thing over with so I can move on with the story. Honestly, 13 chapters and I have gone about six hours into the game. *sighs* Perhaps I should just dump this little project, after all, people must have a hell of a time trying to find a story line in this heap of weirdness.  
  
I've already started on chapter 14 and I'm also beginning a fanfic on Final Fantasy 7. It will probably end up a Tifa/Vincent, (Cloud pissed me off with that whole Aeris thing.) but I'm not quite sure yet. My muses tell me it's something I must do, but my brain simply won't comply.  
  
Thanks to all those who took the time to review last time, those little comments are, very seriously, the only things that keep me going at this time.  
  
Until next time.  
  
-- Alanna 


	14. Dandelion Rayne

It was like a soft tickle in the back of her mind, something that nagged at her like a loose tooth aching to be pulled. The feeling had gradually intensified as dawn had arrived, spreading its rosy colors across the sky.  
  
Rayne frowned deeply at the realization, already tired from a long night of guarding the village the last thing she needed was to try and decipher this strange niggling sensation in her brain. She sighed as she thought; unenthusiastically trying to figure out what it was that she was forgetting.  
  
Her dark green eyes shot open suddenly as comprehension dawned. She rose from her sitting position and launched into a full-fledged run despite the aching protest of her legs.  
  
"Where are you going so early?" someone yawned.  
  
Rayne twisted her head around to look, slowing her pace slightly, and recognized Impa standing in the doorway of her house, "Same place." She replied, winded by a kind of hidden anticipation.  
  
Impa shook her head, sighing softly, but said nothing more as she watched the young girl sprint out of Kakariko Village.  
  
"I hope you find what you're looking for." She said quietly, before turning and going back into the house.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rayne looked up at the Temple of Time, her eyes sad. When Ganondorf's evil reign had forced all the citizens near the Castle to depart the Temple had fallen into a state of disrepair, stones had fallen out of its great bulk while green moss grew up its sides. She shook her head sorrowfully, thick black hair covering her face for a moment.  
  
'Why do I come here?' she wondered silently to herself, 'Why on the same exact day every year?'  
  
She looked at the gigantic doors of the Temple, her expectations from before falling away. She didn't know why she returned to this haunted place, why she felt as though she were waiting for something to happen.  
  
"Seventeen years old and still chasing ghosts." She said aloud, shaking her head as she mused mournfully to herself, "Waiting for something unknown to pop into existence."  
  
Rayne had usually waited out the day there before the deserted Temple, hoping for something, anything, to transpire. But in the years before the day had passed like any other, the brilliant sun giving way to a luminous moon, and she had steadily stopped spending as much time there.  
  
She turned slowly, readying to leave, but a faint noise made her freeze in her tracks, mouth pursed in annoyance. Her hand moved instinctively toward the concealed dagger in her cloak as she spun about to face the offender.  
  
Death stood before her, scythe held over his shoulder in a relaxed manner. She cursed mentally, knowing full well that there was probably an arrogant smirk on the face hidden beneath his hood.  
  
"A bit paranoid today, aren't we?"  
  
Yes, he was definitely laughing at her she decided, her mood growing foul. "I have an idea," she smiled sweetly at him, "Why don't you take the scythe of your, and kindly shove it up your-"  
  
"Tsk, tsk." He interrupted her, shaking his hooded head in mock grief, "What respectable young woman uses such profanity?"  
  
"I do, and only around you." She growled, resisting the urge to hiss a couple colorful curses his way.  
  
She was walking again, doing her best to ignore his presence, which ordinarily would have maddened him to no end. But now he was different, more solemn, more like Death should have been.  
  
"Tell me, Rayne." His voice was next to her ear even though he remained a few feet behind her, "Why do you come here every year?"  
  
She gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing, "I don't know." She snarled, hoping to end the conversation before it had truly started.  
  
"I do."  
  
Rayne halted, refusing still to look at him, "Do you now?" she sounded amused but inside she was screaming with question. "Then why don't you tell me?"  
  
"Now that wouldn't be any fun," he twirled his scythe around like a baton, sounding exceptionally bored, "I think you should wait here and figure it out yourself."  
  
She whirled about, green eyes burning with anger and a scorching retort already on the tip of her tongue. But Death was gone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There was a flickering light darting across his eyelids, aggravating him to no end. He bunched them up in hopes that the extra darkness it provided would be enough to extinguish the annoying white glow.  
  
"Let me sleep." He barked. His voice sounded wrong, too deep, like the distant rumble of lazy thunder. His eyes snapped open in surprise.  
  
Link rose slowly, head aching as though he had slept for far too long, and warily took in the scenery around him. Water poured out from the dark nothingness above him, flowing down into a small pond-like configuration. Six small stepping-stones of various colors surrounded the outside of the pool, each engraved with some strange markings he could not identify.  
  
"Oh thank the Goddesses'!" Navi cried, hugging Link's face with her small body, "I thought you were dead!"  
  
Link vaguely wondered if the fairy had shrunk, her body no longer covered most of his face with her rather embarrassing hug.  
  
"Ahem."  
  
Link spun quickly toward the source of the noise, nearly dislodging Navi from his face, only to find an old man staring back at him.  
  
"Who are you?" Link growled, once again stunned by the sound of his own voice, "Where am I?"  
  
"You are in the Sacred Realm." The squat little man explained, blue eyes serious, "And I am Rauru, Sage of Light."  
  
Link shook his head in an attempt to clear the clinging cobwebs from his mind, "Sage?" he questioned weakly.  
  
The man's white eyebrows lifted, "You are the Hero of Time, are you not?"  
  
Link glanced at Navi who only returned his troubled look, "What is the Hero of Time?"  
  
The old man let out a sputtering sound, a mix between absolute shock and frustration. "Terrific! And here I thought I would receive the Hero of Time, instead I get some half-witted, country bumpkin who doesn't know his head from his-"  
  
"Honestly Rauru, always the drama queen." A silky voice called from somewhere near Link's feet, "You think seven years would have taken some toll on your boorish habits, you pompous old wind-bag."  
  
Rauru's face turned the dark purple of untold rage, showing up vividly against his white mustache. Link looked around his shoes for the source of the voice, the sound stirring something in his memory. "How dare you?!" the Sage boomed, hands clenched into fists at his sides.  
  
"I've always been something of a daredevil Rauru, you of all beings should be aware of that."  
  
The little black cat was cleaning a paw with a delicate pink tongue, as cool and collected as the first time Link had seen it. Chronos seemed oblivious of the ire he had raised in the old Sage.  
  
"I was supposed to be sent the Hero of Time!" Rauru yelled, waving his arms wildly in the general direction of Link, "Instead Kali sends me some idiot who has no inkling of what a Hero of Time is!"  
  
The cat stopped its cleaning session long enough to send the Sage of Light a warning glare, "I do believe your brain has withered away at long last." The cat sneered, "If you cannot see that Time's hero stands before you in all of his splendor then you are truly not fit for your title of Keeper of Knowledge."  
  
Link gulped nervously as Rauru's shade became even darker. The young hero wondered for a moment if his head would explode. But then the purple color drained out of his face, leaving a more or less light peach complexion in its wake.  
  
"I apologize for being so quick to judge." Rauru bowed his head remorsefully, "I fear my brain fled my hot head for a moment, but I have long awaited the time when a hero would save us."  
  
"But you were right," Link shook his head, "I'm not a hero."  
  
"Not yet." Chronos stretched out gracefully, paws out front and bottom up in the air, "But if everything goes as planned you will be."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
It had begun to rain, a light drizzle that was accompanied by a cool spring breeze. The stunted grasses and flowers that had long since stopped trying to reach their tired selves up grew taller now, as if to grasp the passing water beads. A spider's web had caught the dewdrops in their descent, capturing the beauty among the soft silvery threads, glistening like the tears of some ethereal being.  
  
Rayne watched the scene unfold before her, knees curled up against her chest as she sat on the steps that led up to the Temple, feeling like she did not belong there amidst the fragile beauty.  
  
She sighed, closing her eyes. When she sincerely thought about it she realized that she did not belong anywhere. It was then that she spotted a small yellow dandelion defiantly pushing at the flowers around it, struggling to find its way up to the life giving water.  
  
She was like that dandelion, trying to find her way, attempting to blend in, to find her place. She had color, she had substance, and she fought for her survival every day and night. She was just a weed, striving to be mistaken for a flower.  
  
"Well, I think I've depressed myself sufficiently." She murmured to no one in particular, "I think I'll go home now."  
  
She stood to leave, wiping the rainwater off of her underside and taking one last long look at the Temple.  
  
"I'm really sorry about this." She whispered to the colossal structure, feeling utterly ridiculous at needing so badly to explain her feelings to an inanimate object. "But I think this is a waste of my time, I'm running at unknown walls in the dark."  
  
The Temple stood steadfast, unhearing, but she continued anyway, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that this is the last time I'll come back here." She gripped both of her hands before her, a gasp of exasperation escaping her lips when she realized she was just wasting her time. "Good-bye."  
  
There was a low rumble, and at first Rayne mistook it as thunder but when the ground around her began to shake she reconsidered.  
  
Azure light issued forth from the sky, lighting up her terrified face and everything around her, shooting straight into the Temple of Time. Every raindrop in the air was illuminated and the result was a vast rainbow spreading its multiple colors out across the Temple grounds.  
  
"Oh dear Goddesses." She whispered, breathless for the second time that day. "It's glorious."  
  
The light weakened and faded, leaving Rayne in the darkness once more, but in that brief instant she had seen what she had been waiting for.  
  
And she was no longer running into nameless walls.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Rayne entered the crumbling Temple cautiously, heart pumping with excitement. What would she find in this ancient place?  
  
There was a low noise, a soft growl, and she jumped away when something furry touched against her legs.  
  
Straining her eyes in the diffused light she managed to make out the form of a small black animal, a cat, purring happily.  
  
"Why hello there kitty." She leaned down, poised on the balls of her feet while she stroked its glossy black fur with one hand, "What are you doing here?"  
  
A thought crossed her mind and she bit her lip, "You wouldn't happen to be what I've been waiting for, are you?"  
  
"No." the cat replied calmly, purring still.  
  
Rayne yanked her hand back quickly, throwing off her equilibrium and making her sprawl inelegantly onto her back  
  
The cat sighed, looking disappointed, "That was nice." He muttered, leaping into the air and landing on her stomach, "Now about your question before, the person you seek lies just ahead."  
  
As she rose from the ground the cat scrambled up onto her shoulder where it wrapped around her neck, tail on one shoulder and head on the other. "You can carry me." It hummed into her ear, startling her further. "You may need to carry him too, I'm afraid he's out of sorts after that teleportation."  
  
Rayne wrinkled her nose; things were becoming more bizarre by the minute. First the blue lightning bolt, then a talking cat, and now some guy who could teleport? She was beginning to wonder if she hadn't just fallen asleep waiting for something to happen at the Temple and was currently dreaming this whole thing up.  
  
"There he is." The cat yawned, pointing a lazy paw toward the darkest portion of the room.  
  
Rayne swallowed her fears, licked her dry lips, and entered the room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link looked up dazedly from his position on the floor, his cursing of teleporting and talking cats grinding to a halt when he saw that Chronos had brought someone with him.  
  
It was a girl, a young woman really, with raven black hair and dark green eyes that's piercing gaze seeming to search his very soul.  
  
"Are you alright?" she questioned quietly, taking a few hesitant steps forward, "The cat said you were hurt."  
  
"I said out of sorts." The cat corrected, yawning widely, "And my name is not 'cat' it is Chronos."  
  
"I'm fine." he replied, ignoring Chronos and rising slowly to his feet, "But who are you?"  
  
A wary expression took up residence on her face as she looked at him; she seemed to think he had some hidden motives.  
  
"You only have to say your name." Navi said impatiently, hovering near his hat, "Surely you can do that."  
  
The woman jumped, eyes large as she focused on the small cluster of light she had obviously not seen before. "I-Is that a fairy?"  
  
"Yes, I am a fairy." Navi was annoyed, tapping her foot in midair, "Haven't you ever seen one before?"  
  
"Not for a long time." Rayne replied, seeming captivated by the small winged creature, "They all disappeared with the Kokiri."  
  
"The Kokiri have disappeared?" Link's voice was terse, breaking the girl from her reverie.  
  
"Yes." She said, her voice guarded once again, "They vanished after Ganondorf took over Hyrule and invaded the Forest Temple."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Pain bloomed in his eyes, followed closely by anger, and Rayne wondered what she had said wrong.  
  
"Oh, Goddesses', Link." The fairy's voice was filled with compassion for him but it also held pain, "We weren't here."  
  
Rayne felt guilty but also uncertain. What did this man have to do with the Kokiri? He was not one himself, as he was obviously not of child-like stature. He may have befriended them but that was almost as farfetched as he being a Kokiri himself. The forest dwellers had kept to themselves even toward the end. The fairy coming from the forest was plausible, even the cat could possibly be explained. But where did he fit in? And why was the name Link echoing in her mind?  
  
"I didn't believe Rauru." Link sighed, looking right at her, "But I do now," he shook his head despondently, "Well, what do you propose we do?"  
  
Rayne blinked, opening her mouth to say she didn't know when the cat on her shoulders answered, "We go with her of course, to rest, although I'm sure you don't need it, and to eat." He paused to look at Rayne, "Is that all right with you?"  
  
Rayne nodded, feeling stupefied at how quickly things were going, she had just met these people a few moments ago after all.  
  
The young man held out a calloused hand, "I'm Link." His voice was quiet, and surprisingly kind.  
  
She inspected his hand for a moment, unsure what he expected her to do, "Do you want me to hold your hand?" she flinched at the sarcasm in her own voice.  
  
He didn't seem to notice her derision, or he ignored it, "You introduce yourself and we shake hands." He explained, his hand not wavering in the least.  
  
Rayne bit her lip, then put her small, fragile hand in his, clasping it tightly, "I'm Rayne." She said, feeling suddenly shy.  
  
Why did he seem so familiar?  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Death stood outside the Temple of Time, pulling away as soon as he heard the introductions come to a close.  
  
"I know you love a good secret Kali." He murmured quietly as he began to fade away from Hyrule's plane of existence, "But this is becoming ludicrous."  
  
"You run your business and I'll manage mine." Kali's voice rang out from the heavens, sounding incensed.  
  
"Ah, but Sister dearest." He bowed just before he completely disappeared, "Your business is my business."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: Well Rayne was actually a character I wanted to introduce in the beginning but I figured this entrance would be much better. In chapter fifteen I will establish about twenty different new characters, yes, that's right, TWENTY! *CRIES*  
  
Anyway, that Final Fantasy 7 story I started is crap but I put it up. I couldn't come up with a title so I would be glad for any suggestions.  
  
In the next chapter you will be astounded, entertained and, oh who am I kidding? Just read the damn thing.  
  
Thanks to all those who reviewed and will hopefully continue to review. I would ask those who have read this chapter to be brutally honest about what they think, but at this point in time I don't know if my ego could take it.  
  
Also, I would like to send some sincere gratitude toward Ryu-sama for his proofreading skills, if not for him this chapter certainly wouldn't have come out this soon. *Bows* Forgive my grammar and spelling errors, I fear I am an uneducated whelp.  
  
Until next chapter,  
  
-- Ourania


	15. Arcana

Omi sighed as he dumped another bundle of kindling onto the bonfire, sweat from both labor and the intense heat soaking through his thin linen shirt.  
  
"It was just a joke." He muttered, dusting the thin wooden splinters off his arms. "It's not like I thought Ria would be dumb enough to drink that thing."  
  
He grinned as he recalled her stunned expression when her face had turned a vivid shade of orange. He still couldn't quite understand why he was being punished, he hadn't known that his latest concoction dyed faces; it had been a complete accident. Perhaps this penalty was due to his comment afterwards? Well the orange in her face really had brought out the highlights in her hair.  
  
"It wore off anyway." He mumbled, poking a stick into the heart of the fire, "It wasn't permanent but I still have to do extra chores."  
  
"Stop grumbling to yourself." A cheery voice called from somewhere behind him, "Or at least try to be quiet about it, guests are arriving."  
  
Omi rolled his eyes, threw what was left of the stick into the fire and then turned toward the voice. "Yes Bri."  
  
"That's master to you." The woman's green eyes twinkled slightly, shaking her head, "When will you get that right?"  
  
"Dunno." He yawned, stretching his hands up above his head, "So who's coming?"  
  
"Rayne is you ninny. Sabra predicted that she would come out of the Temple a few minutes ago, alone as usual."  
  
"What else did she predict?" Omi questioned, kicking a stray log back into its rightful place in the fire, "You know that crackpot can never just have one out come, 'There are always several different possibilities when dealing with destiny'." He quoted, snorting.  
  
"Sabra is not a crackpot." Bri said firmly although she seemed to be having a problem keeping a grin off of her face, "But you're right, she did have one other prediction."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"She said that Rayne would come home accompanied by-" she trailed off, appearing to be a bit dubious before continuing, "by a young man, a fairy, and a black cat."  
  
Omi laughed whole-heartedly, slapping his knee in mirth, "Not a crackpot you say?!" he crowed, "The fairy and the cat are a definite possibility but Rayne wouldn't allow a guy to follow her home. Everyone knows her tastes lie elsewhere."  
  
Bri's expression became stony, "I will allow you to call Sabra a crackpot." She said quietly, eyes locked onto Omi's, "But I absolutely refuse for you to turn your sharp wit upon that poor girl. Just because she doesn't acknowledge your charms, or obvious lack thereof, does not mean that she has no interest in men."  
  
Omi blinked blankly at her sudden loss of humor, frowning, "Is there anyone who isn't going to attack me today?" he grumbled, breaking eye contact and looking toward the ground.  
  
Bri's smile returned quickly as it had fled, "Probably not." She responded before the question had fully been asked, "But, then again, your alias is 'The Fool' is it not?"  
  
Omi opened his mouth to unleash a burning retort, and, much to the delight of the middle-aged woman, realized he had none stockpiled for such an affront. He closed it with a snap, pointedly turned his back on a jovial Bri, and sullenly went back to building the council's meeting fire.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Her feet were bare and slightly brown, causing him to wonder if it was the sun or the dirt beneath them that had turned them such an earthy shade of bronze. It was an odd thought, but a complete one, which he was almost afraid he would never have again after such a strange awakening in the Sacred Realm.  
  
Only minutes had passed since Link had appeared in Hyrule, and began to walk with Rayne toward the village, but it had seemed much longer. His head ached from what he deemed to be a result of oversleeping, his stomach had begun to growl ceaselessly and his mouth felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton.  
  
So he had directed all his concentration onto her petite, brown feet as the danced relentlessly across the soft terrain, skipping over jutting rocks and gaping holes with a profound ease he wished he possessed. With all his focus placed upon her feet he found that the aches and pains eased slightly and so he had stared, unaware of the fact that he was making his newest female companion increasingly uneasy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'I shouldn't have told him my real name, I should have given him my code name, but no, of course not. One look into a pair of blue eyes and I stumble all over myself.'  
  
Her temper had slowly gone downhill, not only due to the fact that she had unintentionally just broken one of the big no-no's in the rule book, or even that, in a fit of indecision, had decided to take a complete stranger to one of the most guarded places in Hyrule, another one of her less than brilliant ideas. But the thing that really bugged her, irked her to the point of fuming, was the fact that he was staring very unabashedly at her exposed legs.  
  
Rayne wasn't quite sure why she was so angry at this young man, Link, for ogling at her; it wasn't as if he were the first guy in the history of her life to get hormonal. But the little voice inside her, the one that was usually covered up by her quick wit and angry thoughts, told her that she had just wanted him to be different, to be worth seven years of waiting at an abandoned Temple for some great unknown.  
  
This was quite a bit more than she had originally bargained for, and at the same time a bit less. The gigantic rainbow shooting across the ruins and then the talking cat had set her standards a bit higher than this young man had managed to produce so far.  
  
And now, as if adding insult to injury, he was gaping at her legs.  
  
There was a soft chuckle and a black streak shot suddenly beneath her foot, unbalancing her. Startled, she wind milled her arms forward in a feeble attempt to regain her lost equilibrium, failed to win that battle and plunged rather clumsily onto the ground.  
  
Chronos sat in front of her, but had enough sense to be out of reaching distance, "There now," he said tilting his head so as to gaze at her from a different angle, "I thought that would get the sour look off of your face."  
  
Rayne flushed angrily, shooting daggers at the cat with her eyes.  
  
Link sighed, giving the cat a reproachful look before bending down to assist Rayne to her feet.  
  
"He's a bit unpredictable." Link said as way of apology, giving her a weak smile.  
  
Navi, who had been sunbathing on Link's shoulder throughout the entire episode, nodded in agreement, "Everything is, where the Sacred Realm is involved."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Wait."  
  
Rayne looked back at Link questioningly, following his gaze toward a structure farther out near the center of Hyrule. It was a place surrounded by large stonewalls, looking almost circular in shape from a distance.  
  
"That's Lon Lon Ranch." She explained, unaware of the fact that he already knew this, "It was taken over by Ganondorf a long time ago, he ran out the original owners and gave it to one of his underlings."  
  
Link's eyes grew hard and angry, and for a moment she wondered if she had inadvertently said something wrong, again.  
  
"What happened to the owners?" he questioned, voice hard as steel.  
  
"Umm- they fled to Kakariko, most people did, it's the only place that Ganondorf hasn't been able to touch."  
  
"Can we make a quick stop?"  
  
Rayne blinked blankly, "To do what?"  
  
"I just have to check something." He replied, offering her a smile that had more than a little edge to it, "Would that be alright?"  
  
"I- I guess." She stuttered, feeling some what startled by his sudden change in attitude.  
  
Another smile, this one more sweet, "Thank you."  
  
Her face heated up, but he had already turned his back to her and was walking toward the ranch with the stance of someone who had a mission to fulfill.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
He had checked out the place several times over to see if it had changed any throughout his years of absence and then ordered Rayne to wait by the gate 'just in case' which she was less than pleased about.  
  
"A natural born leader." The cat had snickered once Link was out of earshot.  
  
Minutes ticked away quickly, and Rayne began to ponder exactly what she was doing there. She could leave, she realized, that might actually solve the little problem of bringing him to Kakariko and explaining a talking cat, and a fairy.  
  
Music came suddenly to her ears, a roundelay melody that made her eyes widen. It was a song that spoke of open fields, of cows and horses and happy times.  
  
The song sounded so familiar but she couldn't place it, she thought about it longer, reaching toward her oldest memories in an attempt to place it.  
  
Her head began to ache and her chest to constrict until she could barely breathe, fear made her gasp at the sudden rebelling of her body. She tried to cry out for help but she had no air, her lungs wouldn't respond to her needs. Darkness clouded around the edge of her vision and she realized, with some dismay, that she was about to pass out.  
  
Then as suddenly as the pain had started it went away, leaving her winded and frightened, she had slumped onto the ground at some time during the strange panic attack and sat there now, sprawled awkwardly like a thrown rag doll.  
  
What had caused that to happen? She wasn't sure, was almost afraid to ask. The mere question had started up the headache again.  
  
Before she could deliberate further over the occurrence a shadow passed over her head. She looked up to see a horse in midair, jumping with ease over the edge of the building's wall and land with a thump on the earth, thin trails of dust spiraling away from its hooves.  
  
Any other day this would have made her jaw drop to the ground in astonishment, the jump had been at least fifteen feet straight down, which would have broken even the best of horses, but here it was walking around without even the beginning signs of a limp. Today, with its endless bounty of bizarre and wonderful events, she found that she was merely impressed.  
  
"I wonder if I've finally cracked." She muttered, watching Link pat the horse affectionately. A small smile curved across her lips when he turned and waved for her to jump on. "But I guess it's not that bad."  
  
She ran up to the horse, examining it while its wide brown eyes watched her in turn. It was a beautiful filly, red-brown in color with a white mane and tail. A blaze wound its way down the horse's face, giving it more character than the horses she had usually seen coming out of Lon Lon Ranch.  
  
She reached out, touching the soft black muzzle with the tips of her fingers, "Hi there girl." She said quietly.  
  
The horse wasn't as reserved as she was; it nuzzled the girl's fingers, nipping at them playfully.  
  
Rayne laughed lightly at the tickling sensation and Link smiled, patting the graceful curve of the horse's neck.  
  
"Is this what you came here for?" Rayne asked, stroking the horse's nose and managing to give Link an annoyed look at the same time.  
  
Link shook his head, "What I came for isn't here." He said softly, purposely avoiding Rayne's stare, "I guess she must be at Kakariko, but I had to check."  
  
"Another horse?" Rayne questioned unsurely.  
  
The blonde youth shook his head, eyes growing distant, "No, not a horse."  
  
When he didn't elucidate further on the perceptibly touchy subject Rayne wisely decided to let the conversation lay.  
  
"I do believe we have a village to go to." Chronos said, his voice surprisingly lacking in smugness for once, sounding more like a gentle reminder than a witty remark.  
  
"Do you know her name?" Rayne asked as Link helped her onto the back of the horse, who stood surprisingly still under her inept attempt to scramble up into the saddle.  
  
A sad smile crossed Link's features, "Epona." He said quietly, pressing his heels gently into the horse's sides, "Her name is Epona."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They arrived at outskirts of Kakariko Village before night had completely fallen. The clouds from before had dissipated and the stars had come out. The bright beacons had always made Rayne feel better, and so her fierce anger at the cat faded slowly as the burning white lights had appeared, one by one, each familiar to her, engraved in her memory from both books and teachers.  
  
"I take it we should be expecting company?" Chronos questioned from somewhere near Epona's feet.  
  
Rayne nodded, noting the light flickering from the center of the village, they had built a bonfire, perhaps she was in deeper trouble than she had originally suspected. Fires in the center of the village meant meetings, and meetings meant serious discussions. She was quite sure that Sabra had alerted the council of her current company.  
  
A sigh escaped her lips, making her four traveling companions turn to her in query.  
  
She stopped for a moment, considering. She should have been making up excuses during their short journey to the village but the time had already been wasted on her consideration of the situation, if she didn't return soon they would come looking for her.  
  
She turned to Link, "Don't call me Rayne when we get inside," she ordered, sending an edgy glance at the flickering firelight, "Call me High Priestess, or just Priestess, something in that general vicinity."  
  
Before he could respond or question her attention had shifted to Chronos, "Don't talk." She advised the cat firmly, "Walking in with this odd party will be hard enough without trying to come up with an excuse for your talking ability, understood?"  
  
The cat nodded, but its expression betrayed its intent to, more than likely, not listen.  
  
'No time to try and affirm that.' Rayne thought bitterly to herself, 'Any second now someone's going to come out and ask me what the hell is taking so long.'  
  
Rayne's concentration shifted once again, this time taking in the fairy that was, unfortunately, as hard to miss as the stars in the sky and glowing about as brightly.  
  
"Could you possibly hide somewhere?" she asked in exasperation, slipping once again on the circumstances she was trying so hard to keep a hold of.  
  
Navi thought about that for a moment then flitted toward Link's hat and promptly disappeared into the green folds. "How's this?" she questioned, voice muffled.  
  
Rayne was skeptical at first, but when she realized the faint glow of the fairy coming from the hat would be easy to mistake for the flickering of the bonfire she calmed and agreed.  
  
"I can't stay in here long." The fairy growled warningly, "It'll get too stuffy to breathe after a couple of minutes."  
  
"Well stay in there as long as you can." Rayne said reluctantly, halfway wanting to order the ethereal creature to stay in there as long as it took but knowing how unfair it was to ask that of her.  
  
The green-eyed girl turned to Epona last; the horse's liquid brown orbs staring unknowingly back.  
  
"I don't suppose we could leave her out here?" Rayne suggested, looking at Link in askance, "The fewer things I have to explain, the better."  
  
Link seemed to think about it for a moment, then patted the horses flank, "She'll come back if I call her." He said, smiling at the filly kindly.  
  
'Another question that will go unanswered.' She thought to herself, but aloud she questioned, "Everyone ready?"  
  
Link nodded, and a muted sound of agreement came from his green hat. Rayne turned to Chronos, frowning, "Well?" she growled.  
  
The cat almost smiled, "I thought I wasn't supposed to talk." It replied innocently.  
  
Rayne gritted her teeth, feeling the urge to throw her hands up in the air and admit defeat. "Then I guess we're set." She hissed, sending one last warning look at the feline before she walked up to the heavy wooden door at the entrance to the town.  
  
"Kakariko didn't have a door when I left." Link said quietly, looking at the hulking gateway that rivaled even of the drawbridge at the Market.  
  
Rayne paused, palm flat in the air and eyes narrowed in concentration, her voice a bit distracted when she replied, "Back then they didn't need one."  
  
There were patterns etched into the surface of the door, symbols and pictures scrawled about in a fashion that was anything but organized. And yet, even in its disordered state, it exuded an air of dignity, demanding the respect that only a rock solid structure can.  
  
Rayne's right hand hovered just above one of the symbols, which Link that resembled the letter 'F'.  
  
"It's the rune, Feoh."  
  
Link jumped slightly at the declaration, looking down to see Chronos whose tail was twitching with interest.  
  
"The magical rune Feoh?" Navi asked, peeking out from under Link's green cap, "Like the one in the ancient alphabet that the Ayins used?"  
  
The black cat nodded, watching intently as the symbol level to Rayne's hand began to glow. He would have said more but Rayne beat him to it.  
  
"Every rune on this door represents a person who belongs to the village," her voice was testy; she had slowly become irritated by their constant prattle, "The door was imbued with magic when it carved, it's a spell that allows it to recognize people.  
  
"Artificial intelligence." Chronos nodded in approval, "Very nice."  
  
Rayne smiled, "Hanged Man would appreciate hearing that, no one is very surprised by his outrageous ideas anymore."  
  
There was a soft click and the door swung open with a swiftness the belied its bulky size.  
  
"I shall have to speak with this 'Hanged Man'." Chronos thought out loud, "He sounds like an unusual fellow."  
  
His musing were upended quite suddenly when he was grabbed by the scruff of his neck and held centimeters away from a pair of burning green eyes.  
  
"No talking." Rayne snarled, "If you spit out a single syllable I will punt you straight into the heart of Death Mountain, are we clear?"  
  
After the initial shock had worn off Chronos seemed to smirk. He licked her nose with his dainty pink tongue and then disappeared, leaving a disgruntled Rayne holding air and a few black hairs.  
  
"Crystal clear."  
  
Everyone looked down to see Chronos peering up at Rayne through half-closed eyes, a satisfied rumble beginning deep in his throat.  
  
"H-How did-" Rayne trailed off, shaking her head, "Never mind." She said firmly, "I don't want to know."  
  
A soft clicking noise made the small party turn away from the cat and back toward the portal into Kakariko, which was unhurriedly closing.  
  
"Everyone get in now." She ordered, waiting for her companions to rush in before hastening through herself.  
  
'This,' she sighed mentally, 'is going to be a long night.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Idle conversation stopped and all eyes turned on the newcomers as they walked into the village. Irises ranging from vermilion to lavender pinned upon an unnerved Link, making him turn several shades of red.  
  
The assembly consisted mainly of Hylians, but much to Link's surprise also had a few sparsely situated Zora, Kokiri, and even a lone Goron.  
  
There was a soft gasp from someone in the crowd and one of the sitting figures rose, walking closer to the outsider.  
  
"Link?" wide purple eyes were staring at him uncertainty. "Is that really you?"  
  
"Impa." The young man smiled at the familiar face, relief flooding his finely muscled features, "Yes, it's me."  
  
Plenty of the assembled people looked at Rayne accusingly to which she vehemently replied, "I didn't tell him her name, I swear!"  
  
"No." the Shiekah said after a long moment, shaking her head in what seemed to be amazement, "He knew my name a long time ago, when the King of Evil was but a vagrant pledging false allegiance to the Royal Family."  
  
There was some murmuring floating about after that statement, not much of it beneficiary to the green clothed stranger.  
  
Impa asked for quiet and when no one responded her temper flared, "Silence!" she cried as she tore her eyes from Link to glare at the assembled people, "I am Empress here and as such I demand that you cease this mindless chatter!"  
  
Link's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, "Empress?!" he exclaimed, blushing furiously afterwards as several pairs of eyes turned to him in disapproval.  
  
Impa gave him a strained smile, "That's my alias, my code name if you will; sadly they are required in this day and age, both for protection from enemies and given to show rank and ability."  
  
Link tried not to look confused but failed entirely.  
  
"Because I am a valuable asset to this group they have bestowed on me the name 'The Empress' not because I am actually an empress, or anything near an empress but because I hold such high rank around here, better?"  
  
"Only slightly." Chronos muttered, earning him a kick from Rayne who watched Impa's face to see if she had heard. If her expression was any indication then she hadn't.  
  
"Things certainly have changed since I have been gone." Link sighed, rubbing his temples in order to ease the ache that had begun to form there.  
  
"You have been gone for quite some time." Impa agreed, a shadow passing over her face, "You have missed much."  
  
"Excuse me Empress." A tired voice cracked from near the fire, "But are we sure we can trust this young man?"  
  
Impa turned to confront the voice that had questioned her, an old man whose flowing white hair and silver-blue eyes declared him to be near the end of his life. He wasn't focusing on Impa and Link realized with some dismay that the white-haired man was blind.  
  
"Yes, Hierophant," she said clearly, looking at the gathered people and speaking to them also. "I knew this lad when he was but a child of ten years; he is a good boy and in no way in league with that evil thief."  
  
"And how do we know he is the same kid you knew back then?"  
  
Link shivered at this new voice, when he looked for its owner found a man clothed in black from head to toe, his dark blue eyes the only part of him that was visible. He had been hard to spot in the shadows he stood in, but the dull gleam of a throwing dagger had caught the flickering firelight and revealed him.  
  
Link felt an immediate dislike rising in his chest toward this man. It may have been the fact that he could not entirely see his face, an armored plate concealed the bottom half, but he was sure there was more to it than just his sneaky exterior. There was a presence about him, a dark aura that caused a cold sweat to break out under Link's tunic.  
  
Impa, however, seemed not to notice this and faced the man calmly, "I think I would be able to tell the difference, Devil."  
  
The dark clothed man, Devil, said nothing, only watched Link coolly from beneath his dark hood.  
  
"Now if the game of twenty questions is over." Impa politely waited for anyone to object before continuing, "It would seem enlightenment is in order."  
  
The Shiekah made a small gesture with her hand, one that encompassed all of the people that were near the bonfire, "This," she began quietly, "Is Arcana, we are an elite faction of rebels that was formed when the Royal Family fell from its seat of power seven years ago.  
  
"We use code names in order to protect ourselves from the King of Evil. Since he claimed the Castle and much of Hyrule his influence has grown and so has his magic. If he knows a person's true name they work for him, no matter what side they wish to be on."  
  
Devil made an uncomfortable noise and Impa gave him a sympathetic look before continuing.  
  
"Arcana consists of twenty-two people, all with their own special powers and abilities that set them apart from the rest of the world."  
  
She pointed to a young blonde haired youth who jumped down from the crate he had been sitting on and bowed with a flourish.  
  
"That is 'The Fool,' she said dryly, resisting the urge to throw the nearest object at the little snot, "Aptly named if you consider his manner."  
  
The Fool stuck his tongue out at the Shiekah, then sat back on the crate and continued to pout.  
  
Next Impa pointed to a bright-eyed woman who was toying absently with a sprig of grass. Seeming a bit eccentric she muttered a few garbled words over it and the green piece promptly turned into a small bird. The bird looked around confusedly before squawking in alarm and taking flight. She smiled vaguely at Link before picking another blade of grass out of the ground.  
  
"That is The Magician; she is an adept magical worker, she can turn inanimate objects into living, breathing creatures, or vice versa.  
  
The blind old man nodded in acknowledgment when his title 'Hierophant' was given.  
  
"He is a master of magic; he teaches the children and gives the rest of us lessons on controlling our talents." Impa smiled affectionately at the old man before turning to a couple, a young man with a mop of brown hair and a woman with bright red curls. They sat close to each other, holding hands and they both grinned at Link when they were announced.  
  
"The Lovers are an unbeatable team; one wields a sword while the other carries a bow. Their shared name is a bit more self-explanatory than others."  
  
The red-headed female giggled at Link's wide eyed look, but the Shiekah had already began to talk again. She pointed to a burly man who let out a huffing sound when his name was called, "Chariot worked at the Castle before it was taken by Ganondorf, he has an amazing talent with animals, and with weaponry. He takes care of all the horses and battle equipment."  
  
Impa turned Link's attention to a female warrior, her long brown hair tied back into a braid and her outfit of light armor. She eyed him warily, fiddling with the hilt of her weapon as if waiting for an excuse to use it on him.  
  
"That's Strength, she teaches fighting skills and techniques, she's a bit unnerving at first but once you get used to her she's not so bad."  
  
Several guffaws erupted from around the bonfire, but they were quickly silenced by a glare from the muscled woman.  
  
One of the Kokiri, a little blonde haired female with hazel colored eyes, waved impatiently at Impa. The girl who had been talking quietly to the Kokiri female beforehand, laughed at her eagerness.  
  
"Justice came here after the woods were taken over by monsters; she and Hanged Man are the only Kokiri we know to have escaped. She is a healer and can show us where fairness lies. The girl next to her is Star, who is also a healer."  
  
When the Empress called out the title of 'The Tower' the Goron raised its head and let out a soft grunt.  
  
"He has the strange ability to sense when danger is about to descend, although he can't say what form it will appear in."  
  
Impa pointed out the two Zora who stood farthest from the fire, both female, one with green eyes and the other possessing brown.  
  
"Temperance," she gestured to the Zora with emerald colored eyes, "Can deal with even the most hotheaded of us with a patience the Goddesses granted few." The brown eyed Zora was declared to be Judgement.  
  
"She can tell when you are lying and is often asked to decide who is telling the truth when feuds pop up between us."  
  
"You already know Devil." Link nodded, looking at the dark man suspiciously. "What you don't know about him is that he is a very powerful sorcerer of the dark arts and that he was once the most renowned assassins in Hyrule."  
  
At Link's stunned look Impa grinned, "He's an ex-assassin now, we saved him from being recruited by Ganondorf and he's been with us ever since."  
  
Next The Moon and The Sun's names were presented.  
  
"Moon and Sun are the parents of Star. Moon can read minds and Sun can make weapons out of his own blood."  
  
Finally she pointed to the last individual in the group, a woman with hair the color of a moonless night and eyes that looked like the ocean.  
  
"World." Impa said her name and then seemed at a loss as to how she should explain her. After a moment of hesitation she said, "World can do almost anything, she dabbles in sorcery, both white and black magic, she is competent with almost any weapon she can touch."  
  
Link's jaw was agape, he had never heard of such a person before, at least not one that wasn't in some outlandish legend or myth. But here she was, smiling warmly at him, eyes crinkled in amusement at his disbelief.  
  
"There are a few people missing." Impa explained, looking around with mild frustration, "Emperor, Hanged Man, Hermit, Death, and Wheel of Fortune."  
  
There was a loud crash as a door was thrown open with more force than was required and smashed into the house. Everyone turned toward the noise, several of the assembled with weapons drawn.  
  
"Sorry everyone." A dark haired woman emerged from within the house, closely followed by a squat little Kokiri, and a short Hylian. "That was my fault."  
  
People visibly relaxed and Impa returned her short sword back into its rightful place at her side. "Fortune, Hanged Man, Emperor." She introduced them to Link as they filed out of the house. "Fortune is our scryer, Hanged Man is our thinker, and Emperor," she shot him a look that spoke volumes, "likes to avoid meetings."  
  
"Aw c'mon now Impa." Talon whined, "That ain't no fair. I show up when ya need me to."  
  
Then his eyes encountered Link.  
  
"Oh Goddesses." He whispered, eyes wide, "Is that Link?"  
  
Link nodded slowly, a smile curving the corners of his mouth.  
  
Talon nearly trampled the sitting assembly when he rushed over to pick up the young blonde in a bear hug, which looked ridiculous because of the difference in height between the two of them.  
  
When Link's bruised middle had stopped hurting some what Talon began questioning him.  
  
"Where have ya been? What have ya been doin' for so long? How did ya escape from Ganondorf?"  
  
Link nearly laughed, "Perhaps we could discuss this some other time?" he asked, looking around at the rest of the Arcana group.  
  
"I 'pose so." Talon sighed, his evident impatience only making his expression more comical.  
  
After Talon had calmed down and the rest of the group seemed to have relaxed Link asked the one question that had been plaguing his mind ever since he had fallen from the Sacred Realm.  
  
"Where is Malon?"  
  
A hush descended over the gathering, and the eagerness on Talon's face faded away.  
  
"C'mon inside Link." He said quietly, grabbing the young man by his arm and steering him toward the house he had just recently exited. "There's somethin' I hafta tell ya."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: This was, by far, one of the most painful chapters I've ever written. It stretched both my wits and my patience to their very limits and is somehow still awful.  
  
In the next chapter I beg all of my regular and newbie reviewers to bear with me; it will probably be very short and very angsty. Please don't abandon this story if things get ugly, I still haven't, and I promise things will get better.  
  
Thanks to all those who edited this monster, (Ryu-sama, my friend Johanna, my parents, my sisters, ect.) I thank you from the bottom of my rather heavy heart.  
  
Well it's twelve o'clock in the morning, and since I can think of nothing else to say I guess I will end this rant here.  
  
I love all who will review,  
  
-- Alanna 


	16. Of Love and Insanity

Rayne watched detachedly as the council members began to disperse, the object of their debate having been hurriedly withdrawn from their prying eyes and curious questions. She was vaguely aware of the fact that the meeting fire had been extinguished, thin wisps of gray smoke hovering in her line of vision before evaporating as though they had never been.

Above Kakariko a storm had begun, dark clouds gathering to conceal the night sky from view. The villagers scampered into the safety of their warm homes just in time to avoid getting drenched by the downpour. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder rumbled in the distance while the rain saturated Rayne's clothing. She would have like nothing more than to follow the rest of the village's example and run to her house to drink steaming hot mugs of cocoa while speaking in hushed tones about the young stranger.

Unfortunately her place of residence was currently housing said topic and, to her chagrin, she realized that she was in no way ready to face him. Rayne was reluctant to speak with Link due to a reason she dared admit only to herself.

Malon.

The name sounded strangely in her mind, echoing like a single word lost in a cavernous space.

'A horse.' She thought morosely, drawing her knees up to her chest in an ineffective attempt to retain her body heat, 'How could I have thought he was talking about a horse?'

The actual question of the day had become 'what else was she supposed to think'? It wasn't as though she knew Link well; her relationship with him so far had been finding him in the shambles of the Temple of Time and taking him home with her. While her mind had been trying to fill in the blank spaces, such as why he was at the Temple and what the blue light from the sky had to do with him, she hadn't had time to dwell upon the more personal aspects of the young man.

He was obviously from Hyrule if he knew Talon and Impa, but from Link's earlier questions she realized that he was not from this particular time. He hadn't known that Ganondorf was the King of Evil, or that Lon Lon Ranch along with the rest of the Hyrule had been taken from the people. The Kokiri had been gone without a trace for nearly seven years and if her guess was correct so had Link. But there were still so many holes, so many unexplained things centered around him. He was like a peculiar book she was trying to read with half the pages missing.

He was supposed to be a stranger, an outsider, but he seemed to fit in better than she did. After all, he was in her house, more than likely drinking her tea, talking with Impa and Talon. And here she was, out in the freezing rain, facing the remains of a defeated fire, alone.

With all things considered it seemed unfair. She had found him, had brought him to Kakariko Village against her better judgement, her, Rayne, not Talon, not Impa, and definitely not Malon. But she had once again been left out of the circle; she was the only one who didn't know what was going on.

Perhaps the thing that irritated her most was the simple fact that she had no idea who this Malon was. Albeit, the name itself was familiar, but there was no face in her memory to match to the name. Rayne really had no notion of who she was.

She rose slowly, surprised to find herself thoroughly soaked and shivering.

'If Talon is so well acquainted with this Malon girl why have I never seen her before?' she kicked a pebble as she walked, taking some of her exasperation out on the poor rain soaked stone. 'More importantly, why hasn't he ever mentioned her?'

Left out again apparently.

Rayne stopped walking, an unreasonable rage welling up from deep within her. She gave the pebble a last savage kick, watching it skitter across the ground until it was lost from sight while trying to ignore the pain it had caused in her barefoot.

No one ever told her anything! Why did they treat her differently? Not just Talon and Impa but everyone? Did they think she was touched in the head? That she wouldn't understand? Every other member of Arcana had known who Malon was, their reaction to her name had made that painfully obvious. The only conceivable explanation was that Talon and possibly Impa were purposely keeping her in the dark.

But why?

"That's it." She snarled, turning back the way she had come, back toward the house Talon had ushered Link into, "I'm going to get some answers now."

A small voice in the back of her mind warned her that she was being irrational, childish even, but it was drowned out by her white hot anger.

She was so caught up in her feelings of fury that she initially missed the fact that the door was ajar, soft firelight illuminating the rain eroded ground. When her brain had finally caught up with her body she was already in the doorway, frozen by the sight that lay just beyond the opening.

The table had been thrown over, one of its legs broken and hanging on limply by a thin sliver of wood, swinging in the breeze from outside. Several shattered glasses lay nearby, doubtlessly broken by the same force that had sent the table sprawling. The jagged glass pieces cast eerie shapes onto the walls as they reflected the flickering light from the fireplace, whatever dark liquid they had held before now creating puddles on the floor. Impa stood in a corner of the room, her usually neutral face allowing one to see that she was visibly shaken. Her dark violet eyes were wide and she was tugging on her white hair in a gesture of apprehension, her face was ashen.

It took her a moment but when she finally spotted Rayne in the doorway she gestured weakly for the girl to enter.

Rayne did so uncertainly, closing the old wooden door behind her as quietly as possible, for it was just then that she had spotted Talon and whatever remained of her wrath from before dissipated like the smoke from the smothered council fire.

Talon sat a chair, shoulders hunched over, face hidden behind his large, calloused hands. Everything in his posture indicated resignation and sorrow, Rayne could hardly believe that this man was the same Talon she had seen just some time ago playfully dodging Impa's lecture with an unsatisfactory excuse. She felt overwhelmed; plagued by both her righteous anger at him from before and by the sudden compassion she had for him now.

"What happened?" her voice sounded alien to her ears, foreign in the silence that had before enveloped the room.

Impa gave Rayne a feeble imitation of her customary reproachful look, but Rayne wasn't looking at the Shiekah, the young girl was focused on Talon.

When the rancher finally looked toward her she saw strain in his face and for the first time in her life she realized how old he was, it was as though every wrinkle, every usually imperceptible flaw was magnified by the firelight.

"He's gone." His voice was hollow but his eyes were piercing, "Link's gone."

"You did the right thing." Impa said hesitantly, "Telling him was the right thing."

"Did I?" Talon was still looking at Rayne, his eyes trying to bore holes in her, "I ain't so sure."

There was something cold crawling up Rayne's spine, her throat was constricting with a feeling akin to dread.

Talon rose from his chair, his gaze never leaving her face, "What 'ave we done Impa?' he croaked, holding out a shaking hand toward Rayne, "What 'ave I done?"

Rayne felt dizzy, Talon kept going in and out of focus while the room around her seemed to be changing. The wallpapered walls were fading away to be replaced by practical wooden ones, the room itself seemed to be getting smaller. The broken table and ruined glasses disappeared and a carpet materialized.

Talon came back into focus but he looked different, younger somehow, and taller almost as tall as she was. "No," she realized "He isn't taller, I'm just smaller, perhaps I fell?"

He was crying, translucent tears coursing down his cheeks while he spoke words she heard but couldn't comprehend. What was happening?

She knew this room, she knew this younger Talon, but how?

Her stomach was rebelling, her body trembling, her head ached. It was wrong, all wrong, it made no sense. Why did Talon look that way? Why were the edges of the room blurred?

Younger Talon was holding her, she was looking straight over his shoulder, but she couldn't feel anything, no warmth from him, no grip from his embrace. Was this all an illusion?

Or was it a memory?

Talon's words began to make sense, "She's dead." He croaked.

Who was dead?

"I'm so sorry, honey."

Why was he calling her honey?

"I'm so very sorry."

Why was he sorry? Why did her heart feel like it was breaking?

"Stop!" a female voice, her voice.

Rayne caught herself just in time to avoid hitting the floor. The room was back to normal now, the busted table the floral wallpaper was there again. Talon was still crying but he wasn't as youthful anymore.

"I'm so sorry." He repeated.

She felt cold all over and terribly ill. When she managed to raise her head she found Impa, the woman was looking at Rayne in horror, her hands over her mouth.

"Talon," the Shiekah's voice was strangely high-pitched. "Talon, stop."

"I'm so very sorry." The rancher said, looking straight into Rayne's eyes. The tears continuing to run unheeded down his face, "Please forgive me."

It was too much.

Rayne jumped up, pulled open the door and ran, dimly registering the fact that Impa had called her name. She fled out into the rain filled night, toward the doorway out of Kakariko.

She tried to push open the wide expanse of metal and wood but found it securely locked. Rayne began pounding on it, the need to escape overriding all sense she had. She hit the door until her fists ached and bled, the crimson diluted by the rain that still poured down from the heavens.

It was just too much.

Finally, weak with both physical pain and indescribable emotion, she sank to her knees on the muddy ground and wept for things unknown.

Link was in the graveyard, staring up into the dark sky with empty eyes, oblivious to the rain. He was huddled miserably on the ground, hand clenching something so hard that his knuckles were white.

Navi sat on his shoulder, wings drooping, her usually bright glow now dim. Her face was in her hands, small liquid droplets falling from between her splayed fingers that had nothing to do with the weather.

Chronos was nowhere to be seen.

Link didn't notice either his missing companion or Navi's crying. His mind was focused upon other things, like what Talon had just told him.

It was amazing how quickly your world could grow dark.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Link watched silently as Impa placed the glass of hot tea in front of him while Talon took a chair across the table from his. The adults' movements were methodical, practiced, as though they had done this many times before. Impa set another glass near Talon, and then stepped into the corner, arms folded across her chest. Neither the rancher nor the Shiekah had exchanged words ever since they had entered the house and the resulting atmosphere was one filled with apprehensive tension.

"Okay Talon, you've weirded us out enough now." Navi's voice was annoyed as she flew out from Link's hat. "Tell us, what exactly is going on?"

Talon took a sip of his drink and Link followed suit, flinching when he found it burned all the way down. The hot tea had been laced with rum, and it left a funny taste lingering in Link's mouth, warming his body while dulling the sharper edges of his mind.

Talon watched him carefully for a few moments, his fingers tapping against the polished wood of the square table the only noise in the room, measuring his words carefully before speaking.

"We never expected fer ya to return Link." It would have sounded like a meaningless beginning to anyone who had just walked in to the room but Link, who had been sitting tense under Talon and Impa's probing stares, knew that it was filled with hidden messages. He waited.

Talon licked his dry lips, "We thought that ya had died, that Ganondorf 'ad killed ya inside the Temple of Time and destroyed yer body. Malon took it 'specially badly."

Link watched Talon, silently willing the rancher to go on.

Talon sighed sadly, closing his eyes for a moment, it seemed easier to say when he wasn't looking straight into Link's own dark blue eyes, "She's dead Link."

Link's rum warmed insides suddenly went very cold.

"She died seven years ago."

"You're joking." Navi's voice was falsely bright, but the nervous giggle starting to rise in her throat was quickly silenced by the look on Talon's face.

"No." he said quietly, "I'm not."

"Then you're lying."

Navi and Impa stared in astonishment at the conviction in Link's statement but Talon seemed unfazed by the accusation.

"No, Link. I'm 'fraid not."

Link stood suddenly, he had been taller than the rancher when sitting but now Talon was dwarfed by the difference in their size. Still the older man seemed calm, collected, even when facing a very angry, armed warrior.

"Prove it." Link snarled, hands curled into fists on the table as he glared down at Talon, "Give me proof that she's dead."

Navi was stunned, she had never seen Link act like this, it was as though a completely different person was in the room. His eyes were burning beneath his bangs, his jaw clenched so tightly it had to have been painful. It was almost as if the child in Link had escaped into blissful denial and all that was left was the hard-bitten fighter, demanding to see evidence or do violence.

Talon saw the warning in Link's eyes and carefully stood, making his way toward a shelf on the wall that held many odds and ends. From the shelf he removed a small, dust covered wooden box, and then he seated himself once more, placing the box on the table before him.

"When ya disappeared seven years 'go we all thought Ganondorf had killed ya." Talon's voice was amazing matter-of-fact considering the circumstances and the subject. "Malon took it the worst, and wouldn't eat nor sleep no matter what we tried.

"One night she snuck out'a the Ranch and took off to the Castle where Ganondorf 'ad made his home. By the time we figgered it out and got there she-"

Talon's sentence abruptly choked off into a sob. Link realized that the entire time the rancher had been speaking he had been feigning indifference, his daughter's death still hurt him no matter how many years went by. Some of Link's anger left him at the sight of the older man trying to maintain his precariously hold on his emotions.

"She was gone, we found 'er at the front of the Castle, she-" he took a deep breath, "It woulda looked like she was sleepin' if not fer all that blood."

Link was shaking, he didn't want to hear this, he didn't want to know.

But he had to.

"She was still clutchin' this, even though there was no life left."

Talon opened the box before him with shaking hands, the hinges squeaked from disuse as the lid was pulled back and a small amount of dislodged dust fell onto the clean table. The rancher took out an object wrapped in cloth and set it before Link, clearly unwilling to touch it for long, much less unveil it.

Link picked up the item, a forbidding feeling rising in his throat. Did he want to see what lay just underneath the faded blue rags? Would it confirm or deny the death of Malon?

He unhurriedly began to unwrap the object, lifting away blue sheet after blue sheet of material, mouth dry, eyes narrowed in concentration.

When the last piece of fabric had been removed he could only stare at the revealed article in his hands, his eyes distorted by unshed tears.

The fairy ocarina.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that everything had become an indistinct blur in his memory. He hazily recalled tossing the table onto its side and hearing the sound of glass breaking and then he had ended up here, in Kakariko Village's graveyard, looking up into a hostile sky.

It was morbidly funny how fragile life was.

He looked at the ocarina in his hand, relaxing his grip enough for it to be visible. Seven years ago it was a beautiful instrument, made from the wood of a long forgotten tree. It had been a creamy brown color, crafted by a master instrument maker. But now a crack had broken the smooth surface and splotches of a darker color had been randomly situated across on the exterior of the instrument. The discoloration had not been induced by age; he knew that, the murky red brown stains were something of an entirely different sort.

Blood. Her blood.

Rayne didn't know how long she sat there in the mud, crying for things she didn't understand. It could have been minutes, hours, even days, she had lost all track of time.

A small sound behind her made her turn slowly around, having been facing the door throughout her entire breakdown, to see Chronos, sitting quite tolerantly up to his chest in muck, obviously not enjoying the weather but not moving from the spot.

She reached out and picked him up from the ground, hugging him to her chest and burying her face in the wet fur of his head, completely forgetting for a moment that he was an otherworldly being while she cried brokenly into him.

The cat allowed this without question, suffering both the water from the clouds and from her eyes while remaining silent.

Finally, when her body could produce no more tears and her throat was raw from sobbing the realization that she was holding a surprisingly docile Chronos in her arms occurred to her.

"I'm sorry." She sniffled, lowering the cat back down to the ground, "I wasn't thinking."

"It's quite all right." His voice was surprisingly kind and Rayne had to resist the temptation to pick him up again, "I'm glad I could be of service."

When she had completely regained her composure the young girl offered Chronos a weak smile.

"That's much better." He purred approvingly, "Unfortunately it may not last long, I'm afraid someone needs to talk to Link and that someone is going to have to be you."

Rayne recalled the broken table in Impa's house, "He did that?" she questioned tentatively.

The black cat nodded solemnly, "Yes, he received some rather troubling news and took it as expected."

"And what would this 'troubling news' be?"

"It's about Malon."

'Typical.' She thought resentfully but aloud she asked, "What about her?"

"She's dead."

"What?!"

Chronos gave her a slightly impatient look, "She's-"

"I heard you." Rayne interrupted, a deep frown creasing her forehead, and guilt rising to form a knot in her throat. For a moment she quietly considered the situation she found dumped into her lap.

"Why should I be the one to talk to him?" she questioned at last, noticing that the rain had begun to let up. "I'm so lost right now. How am I supposed to comfort him when I'm not sure I'm wholly sane?"

"Well I've found you so you aren't lost." The cat jumped up onto her shoulders and settled into a comfortable position, "And to be perfectly honest I doubt anyone in this world or any other is 'wholly sane' so you're fine. You are confused and rightfully so, but the fact of this matter is you're trying to finish a puzzle with only a handful of the pieces.

"If you truly want to find out what is happening you'll need Link, preferably a Link who is rational and unarmed."

Rayne was looking at the cat suspiciously, "Do you know what happened to me in Impa's house?"

Chronos peered up at her through heavily lidded eyes, "I have an inkling."

"But you don't want to tell me until you're sure." Rayne sighed knowingly.

"My, what a clever mind you were hiding beneath all that teenage angst." Then the cat smirked, leaving Rayne to wonder if she should be flattered or not.

"Link's in the graveyard, you may want to find him before he does something irreversible."

Rayne shook her head and took off in the direction of the cemetery, sending a silent prayer up to the Goddesses that all would soon be revealed.

Link wasn't sure how long he sat staring at the blood-spattered instrument in his hands. He was trying to accept what had happened, trying to swallow the fact that he would never see her again. If only he could say goodbye one last time.

He felt numb, unaware of what was going on around him. It was like death and destruction followed him everywhere and rid the world of everything he held dear.

It seemed ironic that he was supposed to be the Hero of Time when he couldn't even save one little girl.

Link found himself wondering what Malon would have looked like had she been alive. Her delicate face arose in his mind, framed by her beautiful auburn hair. She was smiling, causing her wide sapphire eyes to crinkle in the corners from amusement. But then the image was replaced by another that made his heart lurch painfully. It was still her face but it was marred by bruises, her hair was matted to her skull with her own congealing blood. Her eyes were glassy and devoid of anything resembling life, accusing him.

"Oh Goddesses." He whispered, "It's my fault."

Malon had pleaded to accompany him into the Temple but in an effort to protect her he had insisted that she stay outside. And now she was dead while he was still alive.

"Link." Navi's voice was barely audible and husky from weeping, "Link you aren't to blame."

But Malon's dead eyes said otherwise.

He hated himself.

"Listen to me." Navi's voice was resolute, encouraged by his prolonged silence. "Do you honestly think that you could have taken Malon into the Temple of Time against the wishes of the Goddesses themselves?"

"I should have tried something!" Link exploded, "If I had known-"

"And that's it right there." Navi broke him off, "How were you to know."

He glared at her but the look was tinged with doubt and Navi lunged at what would either make or break her chance to convince him.

"It was fated to end up this way Link."

'Wrong thing to say.' She thought sadly when he replied angrily, "I don't believe in fate."

"No?" Navi fought an uphill battle, "Well I hate to say this Link, but she appears to believe quite strongly in you."

It was at that point in time that Link realized that he didn't hate himself as much as he despised his place in the world. He had never wanted to play the part of the hero but, as Navi had previously pointed out, Fate didn't care for his sentiments.

When Link became aware of someone watching him he glanced up to see a dark haired woman had entered his sanctuary in the damp graveyard.

"Link?" she looked worried, her eyes were full of concern. Did he know her?

Then it all came back to him in a flash of memories, he was still in Kakariko Village which was now the hideout of a rebellious group called Arcana. The young woman was named Rayne and the cat he had just spotted curled around her neck was Chronos.

He knew he should have spoken, greeted them in some fashion, but he felt so tired, the whole thing seemed pointless to try.

Rayne took a step forward, watching his face for a reaction as though afraid that at any second he would attack without warning. Link didn't move, didn't even blink, he just stared at her, his eyes dark and haunted.

When she was only a few inches away from him she sat down, ignoring the fact that the ground was wet and cold. She didn't speak but there was something about her presence that soothed the aggrieved warrior. She smelled faintly of lavender and she was close enough for him to feel the warmth of her body. Chronos had abandoned her shoulder and taken up Link's lap, he purred softly, and the young blonde felt the agony in his heart recede. They sat like that from some time, taking comfort in each other's company.

"Thank you for not filling up the air with empty words." Link quietly broke the companionable silence, patting the velveteen fur between the black cat's ears.

Rayne nodded, rising to her feet, "Think nothing of it."

"It's just- I can't believe she's gone." Link put the stained ocarina into his travel pack before Rayne could spy it. "It doesn't seem real."

"I know it's hard to accept." Chronos said quietly, "But you must persevere. The people of Hyrule need a hero, Time needs a hero."

Link flinched at the reminder but it was Rayne who spoke, "So then the legends are true." She was observing Link thoughtfully, "There is a Hero of Time."

"Yes." Chronos jumped off of Link's lap and back up to Rayne, "To make a long story short. Link drew the Master Sword out of its pedestal and was taken to the Sacred Realm to protect the Triforce from Ganondorf. Unfortunately he was much too young at the time and so for seven years he slept in the Realm until he came of proper age."

"But what about the other Hero of Time?"

Chronos turned to Link with a perplexed look. "Other Hero of Time?"

"Yes, when I found the Master Sword inside the Temple of Time it said that there should have been another person with me, another hero."

The little black cat was looking at him incredulously, "You are certain?"

Link looked at Navi who nodded, "Yes."

Chronos cursed colorfully, "She changed it!" he growled, "That bitch changed it without informing me!"

Link and Rayne exchanged confused looks, "Who changed what?"

Chronos' black fur was standing on end and his ears were flattened against his skull in an unquestionable gesture of rage. "Hundreds of years ago there was only destined to be one hero, one warrior, not two! Something must have happened, something that Kali originally hadn't planned!"

"Kali?" Rayne asked, hoping to dispel some of Chronos' anger, "Who is Kali?"

Chronos didn't immediately answer so Link replied, "She's Fate, the Weaver of the Threads of Life."

"Who was the sword talking about?" Chronos finally asked, exasperation clearly expressed in his body language, "Do you know?"

"I thought it was Zelda but the sword couldn't confirm that, it said something about having to see her to be positive."

"But that's impossible!" the cat yowled, "That would mean that at the exact moment you pulled the sword from the pedestal Kali decided-"

Chronos stopped in mid-sentence, his yellow eyes going wide, "Link, was there someone else with you when you went to the Temple of Time?"

"Navi was with me."

"Anyone else?"

Link raised an eyebrow, what exactly was this cat getting at? "Malon was outside."

The cat's eyes were mere slits of yellow against his black face, "Why didn't she accompany you inside?"

"She was told not to."

"By whom?"

Link's brow furrowed, he was missing something, "By the Goddesses."

Chronos' tail twitched and his eyes got slightly wider, "I see."

"What?" Rayne couldn't help but be annoyed at the cat's evasive nature. "What do you see?"

"I need to confirm something." He leapt off of Rayne's shoulder, "You all wait here."

Link, Rayne, and Navi watched him go, his black tail held high in the air like a banner while he marched off.

"Where do you think he's going?" Rayne asked Link quietly.

Link shrugged, "I don't know."

All he knew was that the sun was rising over the mountains and that it had finally stopped raining.

Chronos sat atop the watchtower in Kakariko Village, fur turning orange from the sunlight that was beginning to cover the land. He was concentrating fiercely, standing perfectly still, eyes half closed in a meditative state. When he finally spoke there was a certain measure of frustration in his voice. "I know you can hear me Kali."

"So I can." Her disembodied voice was dry and displeased, "What is it now?"

"Zelda isn't the other Hero of Time is she?"

Silence, then, "No."

"And Malon?"

"Is also a Hero of Time."

Chronos shook his head, "But how can she be? She's dead."

Somehow he wasn't entirely surprised when Fate didn't answer.

Author's Notes: The ------ thing means flashback. Sorry I didn't say so earlier.

This chapter was a bit longer than I first expected. When I made my younger sister read it she said I should change the genre of Dreamers to angst, although I think she was just overreacting.

These last few chapters are ideas that I originally wasn't going to include. Arcana for instance was an afterthought. Rayne was in the story that I had played out in my head but the children of the goddesses were not.

Thanks to all those who will read and review. I know I suck at writing sad stuff but this is the best I could come up with at the time.

In response to Kalyana:

I knew from your review of chapter 14 that you wouldn't be pleased with the rebel group of twenty plus people. I quite seriously considered throwing the whole thing out the window so I wouldn't lose you as a reviewer, but my sister disagreed with that idea and told me that I couldn't aim to please everyone. I am, however, very happy that you enjoyed it.

In response to The Pilot:

Let me start by saying that your review scared the hell out of me when I first read it. "Oh no! Someone's already guessed the plot twist!" but then it occurred to me that this would have to happen sooner or later and I figured you would be the first to find out anyway.

Thank you for your appraisal of Dreamers; it's always fun to hear how well you can write. Oh, and by the way, never apologize for your reviews being late, as long as I hear from you I am content.

In response to Grrr666:

I'll take your compliment along with just about everything else you said, although I sincerely doubt you'll be able to drag me to the lake.

In response to Sai:

Rest assured that all will be revealed very soon, I'm getting sick of all this dramatic confusion. I'm sure everyone has guessed what's going on after this chapter but if people haven't please be patient with me, I'm getting there.

In response to HylianPotato:

I knew someone would crack up over the names for the rebel group, though I must admit I thought I would get more responses from the name 'Hanged Man' than 'Wheel of Fortune'. Can you guess why?

For those of you who didn't know it all the rebel code names from 'The Fool' to 'The World' are names I stole from, get this, Tarot Cards. I built every character from the meanings of the card deck and tweaked them enough to make it interesting. Funny how no one asked me about that, I suppose everyone knew? /cries/

In response to Girl with Many Names:

To be perfectly honest I have been watching Miyazaki's Spirited Away far too much as of late and it influenced the making of Arcana greatly.

Sorry this chapter took so long, I'm afraid my brain took a vacation even while my body stayed at home. All I could manage was a couple of words on paper before throwing up my hands and screaming, "It's crap! It's all crap!" and bursting into tears.

Another big thanks to all those who will review. I would prefer no flames but that may be asking a bit much of people.

-- Ourania


	17. Five Minute Interlude

Chronos inched toward the graveyard, engrossed in thoughts that, to him, made very little sense. He found himself drawing conclusions that were illogical, unreasonable, or just plain foolish.  
  
Kali had been no help, although in truth he hadn't expected her to tell him anything useful from the beginning. He knew that Link, Rayne, and that annoying little fairy would want an explanation as to where he had gone and so as he hurriedly walked he thought of a suitable excuse.  
  
When the small black feline reached the gateway to Kakariko Village's cemetery however, he found that his companions were gone. Muttering murderous oaths under his breath the cat found their tracks in the drying mud and followed them.  
  
He found that the two sets of footprints eventually led to the door of Impa's house which, to his surprise, was open, the darkness inside waging a silent war against the daylight. He wiped his padded feet on the mat outside, depositing most of the muck onto the rough surface and then gingerly stepped inside the house, ears pricked forward alert for any sound.  
  
The house was quiet and filled with the smell of sleep. The wooden shutters had been pulled shut to prevent the morning sunlight from entering the living area but the cat didn't notice; to him it was as bright as it had been outdoors.  
  
With his night vision he finally spied Link still dressed in his green tunic, sleeping on a large pile of blankets in the corner of the room. The cat sat down next to the slumbering warrior, fully intent on waking and giving him a piece of his mind.  
  
"Wake up you little nitwit," he growled, raising a claw extended paw into the air, "What do the words 'wait here' mean to you?"  
  
"Don't!"  
  
Chronos froze in mid-swipe and turned to find Rayne standing in the door way, "What?" he asked innocently, trying to lower his paw as inconspicuously as possible.  
  
"Don't you dare you silly cat," she closed the short distance between them and swept Chronos off of the floor, "It took forever to get him to sleep."  
  
"What did you do? Sing to him?"  
  
"No." Rayne looked uncomfortable and Chronos would have raised an eyebrow had he been capable.  
  
"I-I put a sleeping spell on him."  
  
Chronos cocked his head to the side and only then did he catch a faint whiff of magic in the air, "Is that so? Then all the scratching in the world shouldn't be able to wake him."  
  
Rayne glared down at him, squeezing him warningly, "Look, I never said it was a good sleeping spell."  
  
The black cat shot her a scathing look while trying to wiggle out of her death grip, "So you're an abysmal magician, don't take it out on me."  
  
Somehow the young girl managed to keep Chronos from getting away while crossing into the adjoining room she had just recently exited. She proceeded to dump the rather irate cat onto her bed without too much fuss and then closed the door behind her.  
  
"You'll sleep in here tonight." She said, voice offering no chance for disagreement.  
  
Chronos would have hissed at her for good measure but he discovered the bed he had been dropped on was comfortable. "He doesn't need to sleep you know," the cat proceeded to knead the quilted comforter, "He slept for seven years straight I think a little bit of wakefulness wouldn't kill him."  
  
"Don't do that you'll fray the blanket." She considered her next words carefully before saying, "It has been a long night for all of us Chronos, and I think everyone could use a good nap, particularly Link."  
  
"So what you're saying is you want him to sleep so that you can rest peacefully?" he was curled into a contended little ball, one eye opening lazily to scrutinize her. "What are you his mother?"  
  
Chronos had enough courtesy to close his eyes under Rayne's sharp look but his satisfaction could not be so easily dampened.  
  
"I'm not trying to act like his mother." Rayne said finally, seating herself next to him on the bed, "I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone at the moment."  
  
"Oh?" Chronos snuggled deeper into the faded quilt but his tone remained sharp, "So you know what's best for everyone?"  
  
Even with his eyes shut he could feel her annoyance. "I just can't win with you can I?" she intoned, collapsing backwards onto the bed.  
  
"Don't worry over that too much, no one can." Except for Kali, but he refused to admit that out loud.  
  
Rayne was silent, her hands supporting the back of her head. Chronos wasn't facing her but he could sense her bright green eyes observing him. She wanted to say something, or more than likely ask a question that would leave him rolling with laughter as he answered, but she hadn't seemed to have worked up the right amount of nerve yet.  
  
"Do you-" Rayne faltered, then started again, "Do you think Link has any family here?"  
  
Her quiet query surprised him into wakefulness. True, he had been anticipating her questions for some time now and had been certain to a degree that they would revolve around the young hero but he had not expected something as private as this.  
  
"Why is it that you are so concerned not only with his welfare but also with anything surrounding him?" the black cat asked, ears perked in genuine interest as he awaited her reply.  
  
"Well he is the Hero of Time, I have every right to be interested!" her tone had started convincingly indignant, but it had ended lamely, the light blush that was staining her cheeks effectively betraying her further.  
  
"A word to the wise, kitten." His voice could hardly contain the chuckle it was holding back. "If you're going to lie don't do it outright, put a little of the actual truth in it, that way you won't choke on it when you speak."  
  
"Oh?" she glared at him, face still red, "And I suppose you're the expert on lying?"  
  
Chronos said nothing.  
  
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable Rayne changed the subject. "You never answered my question-"  
  
"Nor did you answer mine." The cat interrupted, staring coyly at her from beneath heavily-lidded eyes.  
  
"Does he have family in Hyrule or not." Rayne growled.  
  
Chronos decided against flustering her further and instead regarded her seriously. "I believe he does have some living family members, yes."  
  
"Then why does he wear Kokiri clothing?"  
  
'Off one subject and onto another.' He mused silently, "He lived with the Kokiri for ten years."  
  
A curious expression was growing on the young girl's face, "But you said he has family, why would he live with the Kokiri if he had other places to go? Was he illegitimate? Or perhaps merely abandoned?"  
  
The look on her face had changed rapidly, now it was troubled, her assumptions had obviously upset her deeply. She turned to Chronos for an explanation.  
  
"Are you certain you want to hear this from me rather than Link?" the cat asked while he pondered to himself what the young hero's reaction would be to his disclosing personal information to an admirer.  
  
Rayne sighed, testing her bottom lip with her teeth before replying. "I don't think he would tell me."  
  
"Oh? A young, attractive woman who blushes more than she speaks? Of course he would want to talk to you."  
  
The hurt in her eyes made him immediately regret his remark. "I'm sorry kitten." He said softly, "I didn't mean to sound so caustic. If you really want to know more about Link you should probably hear it from his mouth. He might not give the impression of a lighthearted youth but he is and once you know one another better he'll be more open to conversation."  
  
Rayne was looking at him strangely, "Why do you keep calling me 'kitten'?"  
  
Chronos blinked, startled, why had he been calling her kitten? "Just an affectionate title I suppose."  
  
The raven-haired woman sensed his discomfort and jumped quickly to the other topic at hand, "Do you really think he will tell me more about his past once we become well acquainted?"  
  
The cat nodded, feeling strangely relieved, "I can't promise you anything mind, the situation has become something less than predictable."  
  
"Volatile is more like it." Rayne agreed dryly.  
  
Chronos would have chuckled if her choice of words hadn't been so accurate. "In any case, I'm sure that if you rubbed him the right way he would spill some secrets."  
  
Rayne's face turned a shade of ruby red Chronos had only so far seen on the Sacred Stone of Fire and spread down past her neckline, causing him to blink in surprise.  
  
"Goodness kitten." Chronos' voice was deceptively mild, "The word 'rub' does not always suggest such intimate things."  
  
"Oh shut up." She hissed, throwing a pillow over her face in an effort to drown out the cat's snickering.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Old Potion shop looked as it always had; it's red exterior crumbling slowly into disrepair, its only door rotted through and home to an assortment of termites. The interior hadn't developed much either, except for a couple new layers of dust on the counter top and the utter emptiness that was the result of desertion. The shop had been lost to the flow of Time, appearing unkempt and uninhabited.  
  
But Death knew otherwise.  
  
He eyed the scene in front of him distastefully; the sunlight from the open doorway flooded upon the unused shop and accentuated every nook and cranny of its ruin. He shook his hooded head in what could have been sadness mixed with a great deal of contempt while he walked around the back of the counter. Moving past the litter of rats and mice he began to hit the wooden floor with the shaft of his scythe.  
  
Slowly he continued the outwardly asinine feat, hitting one spot to produce a sharp thud before going onto another. Finally a different sound rang out, a dull thump that signaled a hollow beneath the floor, and he knew he had found the entrance.  
  
The passageway was quickly opened to reveal a molded stone stairway, spiraling downward into an infinite darkness. Without so much as a pause Death descended, the shadows swallowing up any sign of him.  
  
When he reached the bottom of the staircase he stopped, "Are you here, Old One?"  
  
His deep voice echoed in the unlit room, ricocheting off of the unornamented walls. Bookshelves had once leaned against them he knew, and a cushioned rocking chair had sat near the hearth, there had been a beautifully polished table with intricately carved feet, usually piled high with worn books in the center of the room. But all of that was gone now, disposed of in a grief induced rage, only an ugly carpet remained, a threadbare mass of something that may have once been a beautifully patterned rug.  
  
A dark specter pulled itself out of the black corner of the room, scrambling toward the cowled Death uncertainly.  
  
Features materialized, white hair and a sharply angled face with a proud beak-like nose dominating over a thin-lipped mouth. The old woman sat before him awkwardly, watching him with glazed pale blue eyes. Eyes touched by madness.  
  
"Take me?" she questioned, her voice high and squeaky from disuse, "You take me now?"  
  
"No, Granny." Death's tone was soft but the sound caused the old crone to whimper and cower, "I have not come to take you."  
  
"Why?" she tilted her head to the side, suddenly childish, "Why do you no take Granny away?" She giggled, whether her amusement was caused by her broken language or her referring to herself in the third person being unclear.  
  
"Do you remember Malon, Granny?"  
  
Granny froze, her laughter choked off so abruptly it was as though someone had wrapped a hand around her throat.  
  
"You do remember, don't you?" he persisted.  
  
"Bad!" she hissed suddenly, a spray of spit flying form her mouth as she turned tail and ran back to her corner. "No, Malon! Bad!"  
  
Death sighed, having expected this from the beginning, but charged into his point unrelentingly anyway. "Soon, about a fortnight from now, Malon will come to you. When she does you must-"  
  
"Bad!" Granny insisted, shaking her head venomously, "Very bad! No help, help once, very bad!"  
  
Death was growing impatient, tapping a leather-gloved finger against his scythe. "You must tell her what happened seven years ago; you will explain everything to her in painstaking detail."  
  
A stubborn streak of the old Granny came back into the insane crone's eyes, "No." she said determinedly, mouth set.  
  
"You will tell her!" Death roared, dust falling off the ceiling. "You will tell her or I will make sure you rot inside this room neither dead nor alive for the rest of eternity! Do you understand!?"  
  
Granny had clapped her hands over her sensitive ears when the screaming had started. When she was certain his tirade was over she nodded vigorously in agreement, hands still firmly clasped over her stinging ears.  
  
Death disappeared, his mission had been completely satisfactorily, his presence there was no longer required.  
  
Granny waited for a few moments before lowering her hands away from her head. When the cloaked figure did not pop back into existence she exhaled, releasing the breath she had been holding.  
  
Even in the dazed clutter of her mad mind she knew that she had just done something irreversible, but whether it be good or bad she was unsure.  
  
She remained seated in her corner and would have speculated further but a soft squeak broke her fragile concentration.  
  
The sleek, gray body of a rat scampered into her line of vision, sniffing suspiciously at the air. Her mouth watered as she waited patiently for it to come closer. Then she pounced upon the terrified mammal, fingers digging into its slimy, wiggling little body.  
  
Dinner, she decided as she ripped open the silenced rat and devoured it's still warm insides, was far more important than any frivolous promise made to some otherworldly being.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chronos sat bolt upright, wide awake out of a dead sleep with his black fur standing on end. Something of considerable significance had occurred whilst he had slept, he was sure. He closed his yellow eyes and meditated upon it.  
  
Death had come and gone.  
  
He cursed angrily, jumping up from his sleeping position and trembling with unused adrenaline. It was too late, an event that should have been prevented had already occurred.  
  
Rayne mumbled some incoherent dream words and turned over, catching the feline under her arm. Chronos allowed himself to collapse under the slight weight, her warmth causing his taut muscles to relax.  
  
There was nothing he could do now, his carelessness had made certain of that.  
  
"Perhaps if I had remained in the Sacred Realm." He thought aloud, but then shook his head, no, at the time that hadn't been an option. If only he could claim his true powers, then maybe he could go back and distract Death long enough for the appointed time to pass. Even that may not have made any real difference when he thought about it, the plan was too full of holes, Death would have found a way to slip past his grasping fingers.  
  
All he could do now was keep Malon from discovering the truth. If he could do that then his lapse in judgement would be inconsequential.  
  
He looked at the sleeping form of Rayne as she stirred slightly and hoped to the Goddesses that his blunder would go unnoticed for her sake as well.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Author's Notes: I know, I know, the chapter isn't very long (or very good for that matter), there is no huge plot development and it took me forever to get it posted.  
  
First of all I am lacking in the editor department, Ryu-sama is a wonderful person for taking on the task in the first place but I simply don't have the heart to ask him to waste anymore of his time on Dreamers. Secondly, school is killing me, slowly but surely, and I have begun to spend all of my spare time on studying rather than writing.  
  
Now that I have finished whining let me address those who were kind enough to review last chapter.  
  
In response to The Pilot: Once again, never apologize for reviews being late; I enjoy hearing from you so the time delay doesn't register in my brain unless you mention it. Also I promised myself to take a look at your story unfortunately I haven't been doing much browsing of Fanfiction.net recently. I loved the first prologue even though I'm not big on Star Wars and I promise I will read the second.  
  
In response to Girl With Many Names: Thank you for your kind words. I can understand why the flashback part confused you, I was kind of hoping for that effect when I was writing it ;). I admit to being highly amused when I first read your review (mainly because of the surprise I have stored ahead), but I assure you I love Malon as a character and would not dream of killing her off.  
  
In response to Grrr666: How exactly am I supposed to respond to that monster? Thanks for reviewing (even though you really didn't mention the story) and it's a little late to go to the lake isn't it? I imagine the snow would encumber any attempts to swim.  
  
In response to Ignorantly Grinning: Thanks for the compliment. As I said above I'm sorry this chapter took so long but I promise that chapter 18 will be up soon.  
  
In response to GuruGuru214: I was surprised to find a new review after I hadn't updated in so long but it was appreciated none the less. I'm not quite certain what you mean by 'Dampe the grave keeper type things' but even if I did I couldn't give the plot away this early. It will come up eventually, just be patient. 


	18. Through a Stranger's Eyes

Link had been awake for some time now, listening to the sounds of sleep that filled the house contrast sharply with the noises of mid-morning bustle in Kakariko Village.

He had been angry when he had first realized that Rayne had cast a sleeping spell on him, but the indignity had gradually lost it's bite. She had merely been concerned for his welfare and although she had handled the situation brashly her intentions had been admirable.

His eyesight adjusted to the dim light inside the house, the shapes of furniture that had loomed ominously above him becoming distinct. When the shadows cleared away completely he spied a broken mass of wood in the corner of the kitchen and recognized it with some embarrassment. It was the table he had upended when he had fled from the house after hearing of Malon's demise.

He flinched at the notion, closing his eyes once more in hopes that it would distract him, but inevitably his thoughts turned toward the young girl whose face he would never again see.

For seven years he had been trapped in the Sacred Realm, sleeping as his body aged and the kingdom fell into darkness. Malon hadn't seen Hyrule change either, although her reason had been far more significant than his. 

He threw an arm over his face hopelessly, his heart weighing down heavily in his chest. He possessed the body of a man, powerful and agile, but his mind had not progressed quite the same. Plucked out of his world and forced to slumber for so long his emotions remained as they had been before. As he lay on the pile of hastily arranged blankets he found himself wondering that if Malon were still alive would she return his affections?

She would have aged, in both body and soul, her opinions and feelings changing to adapt to the flow of time. Would she still have accepted him? He would never know.

He felt the other presence in the room before he saw anyone.

"What is it Chronos?" he questioned, voice muffled around his arm.

"I suggest that you pick up the pieces of yourself Link." There was an softness to his tone that implied the words were not entirely meant, "I could feel your sickening self-pity from the other room."

Link lowered his arm and shot the black cat a look that would have felled a lesser being. As it were Chronos merely returned it evenly.

"You have no right to sit there and condemn my actions." Link spat, fiery rage rising up where he thought he had tied it down securely, "You are responsible for this, you and Kali, and whoever the hell else decided it would be amusing to play a game with everyone's lives."

Link waited for a witty retort, something that would prey on the weakness of his words, but none came. Chronos was silent.

"I have nothing left Chronos." he finally continued, the anger bubbling higher at his enemy's lack of response. "You took my home, my family, and the only girl I had ever felt anything for. And for what? For what reason? So that you and your siblings could laugh as we stumbled all over the place?"

A surprised look overtook Chronos' expression, "So you knew."

"That you weren't a servant? I'm young Chronos, not stupid. You may have introduced yourself as Time's retainer but I figured it out." The hero snorted sardonically, "You are Time itself, brother to Fate and Death."

Once again Chronos was quiet.

"How long have you three been planning this escapade?" Link growled, "How long have you been plotting to ruin Hyrule and it's people?"

"You misunderstand--"the cat began.

"Why did you pick me?" Link demanded, cutting him off, "Why do I have to play the part of the hero?"

"You were destined to lead the life of a–"

"Hero?" Link ended incredulously, "How can I be a hero when I can't even save the person I cared for the most? I loved her–"Link choked on the foreign word, surprised he had thought to use it, "I loved her and I never told her."

Wetness pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill over. He was dimly aware of Chronos crawling up the pile of unstable blankets, cursing slightly when he slipped and finally laying next to him.

"You've been hiding quite a bit back in that head of yours," Chronos informed him softly, bright green eyes trying to make contact with tearful blue ones, "Although not all of it is correct."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The cat instinctively knew this conversation was going to be a painful one. He had avoided it for much too long because he had not wanted to broach the subject he was still so unsure about.

"Really." Link said bitterly, a statement rather than a question and Chronos realized it was in response to his last few words. 

Raising the courage he had worked so long to build up the black feline began to speak. "I am Time, you were right in that observation, though I scarcely know how you came about it. I acquainted myself to you as a servant because I thought it would make me easier to deal with. You would not have accepted me into your party unquestioningly had you known my true identity, would you?

"But I adamantly refuse to your notion that this world and the people in it are a cosmic joke to my siblings and I. We do not consider this a game, if we did I assure you we would not involve ourselves in it so deeply. 

"The reason I accompany you now instead of abandoning you and hoping that you succeed is because I do care what happens to this world. I want to protect it and it's people just as you must. But I will not watch from the distance with my fingers crossed and depend entirely on you. 

"I know that you have lost much in an undertaking you never asked for." the cat continued, sadness tinging his voice, "I can understand your anger at me, at my sister and brother, but we cannot predict everything."

"Even Kali?" Link questioned softly, face grim, "She is Fate."

"Kali creates the roads of Life and the choices one can make, this is true. But it is the person who is enabled to choose which path they take, which road they walk, not us."

Chronos sighed deeply when Link did not say more, the sound coming out as a purr. Perhaps they had made a mistake in doing this, in trying to rid the world of an evil by using the people in it. So many lives had been lost already, too many. Glancing at Link's wearied expression confirmed this. The burden was far too great for one person to bear, which was probably why Kali had made the split second decision of having two heroes without warning. 

He cursed his sister internally, wondering if the sight of Link's pain affected her as much as it did him. She may have pushed the hero too far, Malon's supposed death had struck him hard. Chronos knew that he could confide in Link what Kali had told him but the risk was great. He had no real proof that the girl wasn't dead, only Kali's word which was not to be absolutely trusted.

Fate would lie if it suited her purposes. The whole point of her telling him such a lie may have just been so that he could pass it on to Link and give him false hope. The thought seemed plausible, though a bit cruel for her usual tastes. Then again what was Kali if not unpredictable.

Damn her for putting him in this position. Damn him for leaping into it willingly.

The cat jumped in surprise when a shadow fell across the floor. The soft scent of lavender wafted to his sensitive nostrils and he calmed. It was only Rayne come to see what they were talking about. But as soon as his guard drop he smelled something else that had been covered by her flowery scent and his spine curved in fear.

Magic, old magic was surrounding her, powerful enough to send the cat into a hissing fit and make Link stare at him in utter confusion. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She had awoken to the sound of two male voices speaking in furious growls. It took her a moment to identify one voice as Chronos and only a second longer for her to realize the other was Link. She sat up slowly, putting her feet down on the cold floor and listening through the open doorway.

"Hero?" Link's voice cut off Chronos' sentence, "How can I be a hero when I can't even save the person I cared for the most? I loved her–" Link's tone grew soft as if filled with pain, "I loved her and I never told her."

Rayne's heart clenched when she drew the conclusion about the topic of their debate and she fervently wished she had just remained asleep. She readied herself to lay back down when it occurred to her that after Link's last pronouncement the conversation had become more quiet.

She considered her options carefully. She could go into the next room and find the reason for the whispers or she could stay in her bed and wait for Chronos to return so she could question him on the happenings. She shook her head suddenly, amazed. When had she become so nosey? Their discussion was none of her business.

Even as she decided this a strange feeling descended upon her. Of their own volition her feet once again connected with the floor. Her sight began to blur as she walked and her body began to quake. Rayne recognized this feeling almost instantly. It was the same thing that had happened to her yesterday when Talon had stared at her so strangely, it had the same nauseating, mind numbing effect.

Once again the room shifted to be replaced by a different scene, this time into a rocky terrain that resembled a mountain path. The trail was passing her by quickly although she was still vaguely aware of the fact that her true body was slowly walking across the smooth wood of her floor. She could still see her room but it was faded, like one of her eyes was looking into a spyglass to see a distant landscape while her other observed where she stood. Still the rocks jutting out of the path were rapidly passed and she knew that whatever this experience was, whomever's eyes she was currently looking through, was in a hurry.

'She' turned the corner of the trail quickly and was met with a most unwelcome sight. Blood glittered in wet rivulets upon the rocky path, dark red unhurriedly turning a ghastly shade of brown in the sun whose heat Rayne couldn't actually feel. Following the course of the gore 'she' finally spied what it was still draining out of. Her eyes widened, both in real life and in the vision and her breath caught.

Link leaned against the rising slope of the mountain inside an unnatural crater, sweat glistening under his blonde hair and blood drying to a pasty consistency on his tunic. She ran up to him in the vision, kneeling down beside him and only then did it strike her. This was indeed Link, but not the one she knew. This Link's face was boyishly round, his hair shorter than she had previously seen it. His muscles were not as pronounced, they did not reveal themselves with every pained breath he took. This was Link as a child, and somehow she knew him, not because he resembled his older self, but because she had met him. But when?

She reached out to touch his wounded side, hand grazing against the crusted fluid on his tunic. Rayne gasped suddenly as pain seared her ankle. The images faded, the spyglass vision went out of focus and the mountain path disappeared to be substituted by a dark room, the living room, of Talon and Impa's home. She looked down to see Chronos retracting his claws and watching her quizzically. 

Her hand was still outstretched, reaching for the little boy that was no longer there. She let her fingers curl into a fist and her arm drop to her side while she opened her mouth to yell at Chronos for interrupting, but she felt another's gaze on her.

Her attention shifted to see Link staring at her with interest and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. 

"What?" she snapped irritably, aware now of how exposed she was.

"What did you see?" Chronos asked, earning him a glare.

Rayne determinedly fixed her eyes on the floor, refusing to answer. What could she tell them? That she was seeing someone else's memories? Not only seeing them but recognizing them as something she too had experienced? They would think her mad.

"Rayne." 

She raised her eyes to see that it had been Link, not Chronos, who had spoken her name. "What was it?" 

She bit her lip, sighed in defeat, and then opened her mouth to talk.. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Navi had appeared out of Link's hat at the beginning of Rayne's telling so she was entitled to share the glances of utter disbelief the two males sent the young girl's way.

Rayne blushed hotly at the unwanted attention, "That's what happened." she insisted, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Have you ever heard of anything like it Chronos, Navi?" Link asked the two immortals.

Navi shook her head, "Nothing quite like this. Maybe if they weren't memories as Rayne says they could be explained but as it is..."

"Link, do you remember a time when you were injured so severely on a rocky trail?" Chronos questioned.

Rayne looked at the cat wonderingly, he sounded as if he was drawing a conclusion.

Link's eyes narrowed, "Yes, I was coming back from Death Mountain. The Gorons hadn't been able to cure my wounds so I was coming to Kakariko to seek medical aid."

Rayne blinked, the vertigo that accompanied the vivid 'visions' was returning for another go. The room began to fade, the voices of her comrades disappeared.

Sharp hurt in her arm brought her back from the memory almost instantly to see Chronos releasing her wrist from his needle-like teeth.

"Don't go anywhere." he commanded sternly, "We need you to solve this."

Rayne cradled her injured wrist, sucking on the blood that welled up from the insignificant wounds. "Fine." she snarled, "But next time you want to attract my attention find a less painful way!"

"Very well." the cat agreed indifferently. "Now Link, who found you after you passed out on the trail?"

"I'm not sure who found me first. Granny was there, as were most of the townspeople, and–" Link hesitated, uncertainty alighting his features.

"And?" Chronos prompted.

"Malon." Link finished, gaze locked on Rayne who wanted nothing more than in that instant than to crawl into the darkest corner of the room and die.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Impa walked down the stairs, yawning widely and itching her face to wake up the numb nerves. She needed coffee, or at least some alcohol after last night. 

Taking a look out the window she observed that it was well into the afternoon, the sun was already past it's half-way point in the sky.

When she turned back toward the kitchen she nearly tripped over a prone body on the floor. When she actually looked down she saw two teenagers, one cat, and one fairy curled contentedly on the floor, snores sounding out rather loudly for their sizes.

Impa smiled, a sniff at the air confirming her suspicions, there was still magic hovering there. Rayne must have accidently cast a sleeping spell on not only her friends, but also on herself. Impa shook her head slightly in amusement and continued on her way to the coffee.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One by one the current occupants of the house filed into the kitchen, intent on finding something to edible. They were all silent, no one bringing up the conversation that had been held just that morning. As far as Rayne was concerned there was nothing more to talk about anyway. 

They had gone around in circles for hours, gaining no real answers although Chronos had contributed little after his initial few questions. They had pestered him for his thoughts but he had remained steadfast in his silence.

Rayne was mixing a bowl of what she hoped would turn out to be pancake batter while she thought. It was possible that the memory was her own, she may have found a dying Link before anyone else and then run away in irrational fear. But why had the memory come to her in such a forceful way? Making her walk down it once more as though it was happening right that second?

She pushed it from her mind and concentrated on making breakfast instead.

Chronos jumped onto the table with a grace the Goddesses' had only granted felines and stretched. Rayne looked him over still finding it hard to believe that this annoying cat was actually Time itself in a material form.

She stopped in her stirring, "Chronos?" 

"Hmm?" he froze in mid-stretch.

"Out of all the forms you could have taken, why a cat?"

Only quiet laughter met her query.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're going to the Forest Temple?" Impa asked Link as he picked up his knapsack, slinging it on his back.

"Yes, I have to see what happened to the Kokiri, and if the Sage of Light was correct, I have to free the Sage of Forest and liberate the Temple from Ganondorf's minions."

"That sounds like quite the undertaking." the Sheikah murmured, handing Link the Master Sword when he requested it. "Would you like some company?"

Link shook his head, "You need to defend Kakariko, I couldn't accept your help."

Impa nodded slightly, having already anticipated such an answer,

"What about mine?"

Link and Impa turned to find Rayne already standing at the doorway in travel clothes, armed with a short bow, a steel dagger and a look in her eyes that informed them she was not in the mood for refusals. 

Link's eyes darkened visibly, "No."

"She'll come no matter what you say, you know." Chronos informed him airily, jumping onto Rayne's shoulder, "Besides, she has a far more comfortable seat for me than you do."

Rayne was about to smack the cat in the head but then reconsidered when she realized that he had just said, in the rudest terms possible, that he wanted her to come. Her swat turned into a pat.

"It would be nice having another girl along." Navi informed Link, seating herself atop the young woman's head. "The gender balance will be equal this way."

Rayne smiled triumphantly.

"I will not have another woman's death on my conscience."the young man was perceptibly having a problem controlling his temper. 

"I can take care of myself." Rayne snarled back, "Besides, you'll need someone with magical talent–"

"No matter how poor that talent may be." Chronos thought out loud, receiving the hit he had avoided earlier.

"And since I'm the only one Kakariko can spare right now, I'm your only choice." she finished.

Link looked pleadingly at Impa who shrugged, "Once she sets her mind on something it usually stays that way. I think you're stuck Link."

Link threw his hands up in frustration, "Fine, but you had better know how to defend yourself."

"I do." Rayne reported happily.

"Then let's go." Link headed out the door, in the company of Time itself disguised as a cat, a fairy, and a young girl.

Impa watched them go, a frown pulling at her mouth. Talon had not come down from his room all day.

She walked toward the stairs, toeing the pile of blankets out of her way and starting up the wooden case. She stopped at his door, knocking politely before barging in anyway.

He was in a chair facing the window, watching the distant forms of Link and Rayne disappear down the stairwell that led out of Kakariko.

"Ya let her go."his voice was hoarse.

"Yes."Impa didn't bother to lie.

"Why?"

"We can't protect her forever Talon, you know that, she needs to learn to be independent. Besides," Impa paused, "You should have seen how happy she was."

"Do ya think he'll keep her safe this time?"Talon asked, his tone almost desperate.

"Yes Talon," The Sheikah joined him at the window just in time to see Navi's light fade away. "I think he'll keep us all safe this time."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Notes: Another pointless chapter, but at least they're GOING somewhere now. I'm sorry if the 'visions' thing is still confusing, it will be cleared up eventually. 

On to the reviews.

In response to The Pilot: It's so sweet of you to offer your services but are you really sure you want to? I have already scared off two unfortunate editors and I'm not up to frightening a third. If you still would like to edit after hearing this, say so in your next review and I will send you chapter 19 as soon as I crank it out. 

P.S. Thanks for staying with this story for so long, and I'm happy you like the Rayne/Chronos comedy I have going.

In response to GuruGuru214: You clever, clever boy you. I must admit that is what I originally had planned for Dreamers but after I finally began to write it the whole thing changed significantly. So, no, he does not go back in time and save Malon so that she can be in the future. But that was a really good guess! I hope this chapter isn't 'horrible' as you feared, I have been working on it for a while but my writing doesn't really show that. Blah.

In response to Dream][Walker3: Oh damn, look I'm blushing! Thanks for reviewing.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	19. Trek Through the Living Forest

The bridge creaked loudly at their passage and Rayne silently hoped that the wind would not pick up. That, coupled with their weight, would make the wooden structure buck and send everyone flying into the area below. It wasn't really a long fall, a good ten or eleven foot drop at most, but the thought was enough to frighten her into trailing close behind the sure-footed warrior. Rayne sighed, resisting the urge to cling to Link when the bridge did in fact swing in a light breeze. It was just her luck to have to confront her deepest fear at the very beginning of the journey.

Chronos picked up on her anxiety instantly. "What's the matter kitten? Afraid of heights?" he asked, his tone mocking at best.

"I wonder if something of your stature could survive such a drop," Rayne mused thoughtfully, tapping a finger to her chin before a wicked grin spread across her face. "Should we find out?"

"Ah, but I would just land on my feet."

"A shame," Navi muttered.

Their banter was cut short as they entered Kokiri Forest. The grasses that covered the ground were mostly dead, brown and withered plants crumbling in on themselves. Nothing moved against the shriveled landscape, only pieces of dried foliage blown about by the chilled wind.

"So they really are gone," Link mumbled to no one in particular. 

Rayne's hand clasped his shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting manner. "They're probably in hiding, they always have been clever that way."

"It's possible," Chronos yawned. "They cannot be utterly exterminated. Look at that," he said, casually raising a paw.

Everyone followed the cat's lazy gesture to see a dim light flash by.

"A fairy?" Rayne questioned, stepping closer to inspect the light.

Link shook his head, a ghost of a smile pulling at his mouth. "A spirit," he corrected.

"Spirit?" Rayne asked in alarm, back-pedaling into Link who managed to both maintain his balance and keep her from falling.

He chuckled, the feeling odd against Rayne's back. "It won't hurt you."

The spirits began to gather, slowly flitting toward the party. The first of the glowing lights touched the tip of Rayne's nose, sending a wave of heat through her face. "They're warm," she whispered to Link, careful not to open her mouth too wide lest an overcurious spirit flew in.

Link, who was currently dealing with his own drove of blinking spirits, nodded. "They are the remnants of Kokiri who have passed on. If the Kokiri had become extinct, the spirits would also have disappeared."

Chronos swatted at a particularly interested little spirit, "Great, wonderful. Can we move on now?"

Link gave his unspoken consent to this by gently nudging Rayne and starting to walk further into the place he had once called home.

"Look out!" Rayne cried suddenly from behind him.

The young hero managed to block the blow in the nick of time, stumbling back from the force of impact. The Big Deku Baba smacked its maw unsatisfactorily, readying itself for another lunge. Prepared this time, Link pulled the Master Sword from its sheath and struck back, hitting the sensitive red area inside the plant's mouth.

The Baba jerked back, obviously stunned to find its prey not only resisting, but also fighting back. Link took the opportunity this presented, neatly lopping the creature into two identical pieces.

"So, spirits aren't the only inhabitants in Kokiri," Chronos mused, watching the twitching plant with disinterest.

Link cleaned the blade on the brown grass, sticky fluid from the Deku Baba coming off easily. "We should continue without further delay." the young hero said calmly, before sliding the sword back into its rightful place on his broad back.

They moved on through the fiend-infested forest, hacking away monsters that could not or would not be evaded. This continued for a while, before the party finally climbed the rising slope of a hill that had not quite lost all of its greenery, trekking upwards until they came to the lip of the entrance to the Lost Woods.

"Stay close," Link instructed Rayne, his eyes serious as they took in her face. "Don't lose sight of me. If you think I'm going too fast, say so and I'll slow down."

"Is it really that bad if we get separated?" Rayne asked weakly, glancing nervously into the yawning darkness beyond the portal. 

Links stern look was more than enough of a reply.

They entered the Lost Woods cautiously, making sure to keep sight of one another as they steadily made their way toward their destination.

"How do you know where you're going?" Rayne directed her question to Link, who slowly but surely made his way through each circular passage. "Everything looks exactly the same."

Link shrugged nonchalantly, disappointing Rayne who thought that was his answer. The silence was making her uncomfortable, a situation she was certain could be remedied with some idle talk. As they continued walking, what little noises that reached their ears were muffled inside the woods, making the sensation that it was closing in on them even more pronounced. There was magic here, she could sense it. The air reeked of it so strongly that it made her head ache. 

Link's words startled her. "I guess it comes from living with the Kokiri for so long. After being in this place for an extended period of time, you learn its pathways. Part of it is trusting your senses, and the other is just knowing from previous experiences."

"So it's a kind of earth magic?" Rayne felt much better with this explanation. The throbbing pain in her temples ceased hurting as soon as her mind was off the pressing discomfort of the magical forest.

"You could label it that if you want."

The young woman considered Links character before determining that he meant nothing by that statement.

"We're here," Link announced finally, steeping onto the lush carpet of green grass with evident relief. 

"'Bout time," Navi growled, hopping onto Links head. "For a second there I thought you were just pretending to know where we were going."

"Lost in the Lost Woods, what an inexcusable pun," Chronos remarked, before leaping off of his preferred seat on Rayne's shoulder. "The Temple is very close."

Rayne closed her eyes, allowing her senses to intermingle with the air in the meadow. There was still magic as there had been in the Lost Woods, but it was less malignant. She pulled back into herself when the magic brushed against her mind, filling her head with feelings of welcome. This place was sentient, possessing a level of alertness that made her gasp. The meadow was alive, much as she or Link.

"I wonder if Saria is around here," the fairy mused, floating upward to search above the tall hedges. "I can't see much from here, it's kind of misted over," she called to the others.

Rayne arched a black eyebrow, disengaging her mind from the speculations of the Sacred Forest Meadow. "Saria? Who is Saria?" she asked, noting Link's brightened expression when the name had come up.

"She's an old friend. Goddesses, I haven't seen her in a long time."

As soon as Link ran out onto the maze-like path, the Sacred Meadow sent a warning signal in Rayne's direction. Without a second of hesitation she grabbed the back of the young man's tunic and pulled, hard. Link fell back into her just in time to avoid being skewered by a spear held in the hands of a large, brown-skinned warrior. Rayne braced herself when it occurred to her just how hard she was going to hit the ground, her mind calculating the added weight of an armed Link crushing her into the earth. Thankfully the hero twisted in mid-air, landing next to instead of on top of her.

All of them stared incredulously as the creature faced them.

"Is that a gingerbread man?" Chronos snorted.

"In a loincloth?" Navi added unnecessarily.

The whole group would have dissolved into giggles had the monster not charged again. Link was quick to draw the Master Sword and parry the deadly strike. Sparks showered the dry ground, causing the blades of dead grass to erupt in flames, which Rayne quickly worked to put out. 

'Fleeing from ridiculous monsters is one thing', she thought as she stomped the burning blades into oblivion, 'Being forced to do so from a fire is another matter entirely.'

The creature growled, pushing Link and gaining ground. The difference in their strengths was enormous, as the eight-foot tall behemoth was rock solid, unhindered by flesh or bone. Link quickly jumped back, sending the beast sprawling, before carefully springing forward, delivering a parallel cut to the mid-section of the monster. The sword glanced off the dark stone skin, jarring Link's arm painfully but leaving no visible sign of injury on his opponent.

The young hero was forced to dodge to the side when the spear was thrust at his chest. The sharp obsidian head ripped through his tunic, grazing flesh. Link sucked in a deep breath of air to keep from yelling obscenities as he skipped out of the way of another fatal blow.

Without warning there was a sharp twang, followed by an arrow suddenly materializing in the monster's eye socket. It blinked its remaining red eye dumbly before toppling to the ground with an audible boom.

Link turned to see Rayne lowering her bow. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly and chest heaving with every breath.

"Yes," he replied as he put a hand to his injury, only to find that it was nowhere as serious as he had thought it to be. "Are you all right?" 

She opened her mouth but her voice refused to respond. Link watched her, patiently awaiting her reply.

"It was just really sudden," she admitted finally, composing herself. "We can go now."

Link hesitated. Rayne's face was still unusually pale, and although it was less noticeable than before, she was still shaking. "We can rest a minute, he decided finally.

"No," her lips drew into a stubborn line, "I said I was fine."

"Isn't it just like a woman to insist that she's fine, even when she's really not?" Navi mused to Chronos, sitting on his back as the pair watched the drama unfold before them.

"It's more like Rayne than women in general," Chronos replied, snickering. "Do you think they'll finish this quarrel soon?"

"Probably not."

"Perhaps we should try to stop them," the cat suggested.

Navi hooted merrily at the thought. "You do that, I'll sit back here and watch."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Some King of Evil Ganondorf is," Navi remarked as another of the buff creatures fell lifeless to the ground. "His minions look like something you'd serve children during Yule."

"I should have coined that gingerbread thing," Chronos muttered to Rayne, who shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Ten rupees every time someone says anything even vaguely related to it."

"And what would you do with the rupees?" Navi drawled, smiling. "Buy kitty food?"

"I despise you." 

"Feeling's mutual," the fairy giggled.

"Is it just me, or do they argue more than is strictly necessary?" Rayne snickered to Link.

"This way she picks on him instead of me." Link replied, grinning at the scowling Chronos.

Two stone pillars announced an end to the hedge maze. The party walked through the opening into a narrow pathway that eventually led to a stone staircase. Upon defeating the large Moblin that attempted to flatten them with a huge spiked club they finally came to the end of the Sacred Forest Meadow.

Link glanced around expectantly, particularly paying attention to the stump near the corner of the square field. Rayne was quiet, the Meadow having already informed her that the one Link sought was no longer within its boundaries. After countless minutes of searching, the young man seemed to give up, his expression one of sorrow.

"She could be inside the Forest Temple." Rayne said quietly, glancing up to see the ruined stairway.

Chronos had followed the young woman's gaze and realized their current predicament. "And how would you propose we venture up there? I don't suppose any of you can jump that high," he remarked snidely.

"I could levitate us up there one at a time," the young woman offered, judging the distance and finding it acceptable. 

The cat looked at her for a second, before turning to Link and Navi. "Anyone else have a less deadly idea?" he enquired.

"I'll have you know I'm very competent in levitation magic." Rayne snapped angrily.

"Competent?" Chronos hissed back. "Define competent in the context you are using. Competent as in well end up bruised at the end, or competent meaning well be in little pieces when you're finished?"

"Enough."

Rayne and Chronos both turned to look at Link, who was observing them with vexation. 

"We don't have time for this. If you want to find an alternative means of getting up there Chronos, be my guest. Otherwise were going with Rayne's levitation spell."

"Fine," the cat said, surprisingly smug for having lost the argument. "But when you end up dismembered, don't come to me crying."

Link stepped in front of Rayne, ignoring Chronos' last comment. "Do I need to do anything?"

The young woman shook her head, averting her eyes from his face, "Just stand still."

Taking in a deep breath she relaxed the muscles that had tightened during her disagreement with the black cat. Rayne concentrated, gathering her strength and tuning out all other sound. Her magical core came to life with a low roar, several threads glowing bright as they activated. Levitation was a relatively simple spell, requiring only basic wind knowledge. The only issue was that the element was naturally playful and tended to pull mischievous little tricks on the unwary sorcerer.

Rayne kept this all in mind as she mentally grasped the strands of power, weaving them into a net form. She cast the web out of herself and caught a stray gust of wind. Unfortunately she had selected a particularly feisty gale, which struggled against the bindings, trying to slip out. Frowning, Rayne sang out three musical notes in quick succession, more magical threads exiting from her mouth and wrapped around the element. That seemed to accomplish it; the wind ceased fighting and became properly docile.

"Okay, here we go." Rayne notified Link, and then directed the zephyr underneath and around him.

His feet rose with reluctance, hovering several inches above the grass. Rayne whistled out another note and he began floating higher.

"Don't drop him," Chronos called.

"If I do, it'll be on top of you," Rayne hissed through her teeth in reply.

As soon as Link reached the point where his head was level with the broken stairway he grabbed the cracked stone and hauled himself up.

"You're next Chronos," Rayne sweetly informed the little black cat, who looked at her warily.

"I have this sneaking feeling this is going to take several trips," he said suspiciously.

"Now Chronos, would I do such a thing?" she replied, putting an innocent look on her face.

"Yes, in a heartbeat, and take pleasure in it as well."

Rayne appeared to consider that while she levitated Chronos into the air. "Well," she said as she flashed him an impish smile, "At least you'll land on your feet."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When they were all safely on the platform that lead to the entrance of the Forest Temple, Rayne released the wind from her magic net and then turned to Link.

"Be ready, you don't know what we'll run into in there," the young man warned her, gripping the Master Sword in both hands.

Rayne gulped, deliberating between having her dagger out, or her bow drawn. At length she decided that a long range weapon was preferable since Link already had a blade, and plucked a green feather-fletched arrow from the leather quiver on her back. 

"I don't have many arrows left. I'll have to make more soon," she announced, notching the one she held to her bowstring.

Link adjusted his hold on the hilt. "Let's hope you wont need them."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The room they entered was very large due to the high ceiling, and made remarkable by the trees that towered above the strange group. Vines covered the walls, running from floor to ceiling in intricate patterns and designs that one could spend all day examining. 

"How could all of this grow without sunlight?" Navi voiced the question that was on everyone's mind as they gazed around in awe.

"It's probably a type of independent magic that allows the plants to live without water or sunlight," Rayne replied as she approached one of the gnarled giants. She was about to put her hand on it to ascertain her supposition, when a low growl discouraged additional movement.

She froze as a furred foot stepped into her line of vision, but it was the pearl white claws that ended in deadly points that really caught her attention. Another foot appeared, closely followed by the rest of the beast's body. It was wolf-like, with an elongated jaw like that of a canine and a gray pelt covering the whole of its body, but standing on its hind legs, regarding her with cold intelligence most animals did not exhibit.

Though this creature had killed before, it knew to fear the bow she held limply in her hands. As she stood frozen, Rayne could see it gauging the damage she could inflict on it, debating that against the meat her body would supply. 

Without warning, Chronos jumped down from her shoulder, and in a blur of movement attacked the wolf's face, biting and scratching in a mad attempt to distract it long enough for Rayne to regain control of her rooted limbs.

The wolf snarled in anger and shock, clawing at the cat's slim body with a vengeance. Chronos loosed a yowl of pain as the nails raked his back, before falling away from the beast. Rage surged through Rayne when she saw the black form hit the ground and lay unmoving. Unthinkingly she pulled the loaded arrow back to her ear and fired. The beast caught it in midair, snapping it into a mass of splinters as it hurtled toward the young girl. Rayne drew her dagger and caught the wolf full on with a clumsy upward sweep of her bladed weapon, flinching as its claws sank into her upper arm. A howl escaped the creatures opened mouth just before it died.

Ignoring her wound for the moment, Rayne dropped her weapon and ran up to Chronos, sinking to her knees before she gently lifted his prone body onto her lap.

"You stupid cat, why did you have to do that?" she sniffed as the feline's blood soaked into her tunic. "Why did you have to get hurt?"

Link quickly joined her, having just disposed of another wolf creature that had surprised him when Chronos had attacked the first. "How is he?"

Rayne didn't respond, instead beginning to concentrate once more, the strands of her magic rising rapidly at her distressed command. White threads spilled out of her fingers as she focused on healing the cat's body. She imagined the veins repairing themselves, the muscles and fat that had been ripped apart growing back at an accelerated rate. Her magic responded to this by actually accomplishing it on the physical plane, the blood that had soaked her clothing vanishing as it returned to Chronos. 

The white magic faded, the radiance it had generated remaining only for an instant before winking away. Chronos groaned, made an effort to open his eyes, and then decided he didn't really need to see what was currently happening. "That stung like hell," he said weakly.

Rayne burst into tears, squeezing the cat to her face, "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!"

"Ugh, I assure you if I had known I'd end up aching like this I would have thought it through more seriously," the cat said in a strained voice as he squirmed in her grasp. "Kitten, I think you should release me before you end up having to heal some broken bones."

Rayne lessened her grip but did not free the cat altogether, instead hugging him lightly to herself, afraid to let go. 

Link smiled at Chronos protests, knowing they were half-hearted. Being pressed against Rayne's chest was not something one needed to complain about too much. After a few minutes the cat gave up trying to act outraged.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  


Authors Notes: Wow, another useless chapter, I just cant seem to bring myself to actually have them enter the Temple. *Sighs* 

A special thanks to The Pilot who was kind enough to set right my wrongs. If I hadn't sent it to him blood would have been spilled over the poor quality of my work.

  


Now to all those who reviewed:

  


In response to The Pilot: *Sighs* I must apologize sincerely for sending you such a rough copy of this chapter. When I saw all the corrections you had to make I was most abashed, Im astounded that you didn't e-mail me a verbal beating for my ignorance.

  


I think you might be catching on to several surprises, shrewd as you are, it doesn't surprise me much, although it does kind of take the wind out of my sails. :P

  


In response to GuruGuru214: Me? Clever? My dear boy, I fear you are sadly mistaken. If I were truly as smart as one my age should be, I would have caught onto what you were saying the first time you reviewed. 

  


I'm glad you like Rayne, she can be exceedingly complex at times and amazingly simple at others. Perhaps you know precisely what I have in store for Dreamers, you would have the last time if I hadn't of changed my mind before I began writing. I don't mind if you make predictions about my story, to hell with fanfiction.net, you're entitled to review in whatever way you please.

  


In response to Grrr666: I really shouldn't even reply to that... I am in no mood to write lemons/limes and I probably never will be. I like how you made up your own word at the end of your rant though.

  


In response to Girl With Many Names: Yay! I thought I had lost you when you didn't review on chapter 17. *Does victory dance* 

  


Now to answer your question. There is no 'Life' because Hyrule and its inhabitants are technically life incarnate. The Goddesses (mainly Farore if I remember the video game correctly) created the beings that reside in Hyrule and imbued them with the ability to reproduce, so the entity life was never needed. Time, Fate, and Death were required because without them the world would have been overrun with an ageless, fearless, and undying populace. I hope that explains it well enough.

  


Thanks for returning to review me again, I really missed hearing from you.

  


In response to Black Demon567: Wow, that's a lot of 'really's. Thank you very much for your flattery. By the way, you are in no way stupid and it offends me that you would call yourself such, no reviewer of mine is idiotic, and you are no exception. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	20. Temple Specters and Potential Spies

The first thing they noticed when they entered the antechamber of the Temple was the silence. It was deathly quiet; even the pattering noises of small vermin that usually inhabited such dilapidated structures were strangely absent.

"I don't think I particularly like this place," Rayne informed the rest of the group, clutching a glowering Chronos to her breast.

"Anything vaguely sentient would agree with you," the cat grumbled, looking around the room with an air of one anticipating to be pounced upon at any moment. "It's a pity we're obligated to be here anyway."

The young woman's face twisted. "Why do I get the feeling someone's sides are splitting with laughter at our predicament?"

"Probably because it's true," Navi interjected from her customary place above Link's head.

"Quiet," Link's soft baritone voice interrupted, the sound of metal against leather quickly following as he drew the Master Sword from its ornamental scabbard. He squinted, leaning forward slightly while holding the shining blade out before him. Rayne followed his example, squinting at the flickering flames of the torches that were situated in a square formation in the center of the room. 

"I do believe you've become paranoid, Link," Chronos informed him dryly, tearing his piercing gaze away from the oddly colored fires. He had to be careful not to choke on his tongue immediately afterwards though, when he saw the air around the torches shimmer with something that had nothing to do with heat.

"Paranoid, huh?" Navi smirked nervously.

"Damn cat jinxed us," Rayne frowned, gently dropping said feline onto the ground as she reached for her dagger.

The blaze within the torches grew, vague shapes forming out of the tongues of fire. Squat bodies appeared, bulbous purple and black torsos with no visible neck or legs. Yellow eyes glowed out of the darkness that made up their faces, filling with malicious glee as they caught sight of the intruders. Each carried a lantern filled with the flames they had been borne of, their clothing differing in shades so as to tell them apart.

"Poes," Link snarled, stepping in front of Rayne and slipping into a defensive battle stance. The four wraiths cackled madly at this action, then began spinning about the room, quickly closing in on the startled group. They whirled like a miniature tornado until the party was in its eye, surrounded by an incorporeal wall of phantasms.

Frightened into action, Rayne struck out wildly with her dagger, aiming for what she hoped was the sensitive area of a Poe within the mad swirl of shapes and colors around her. The searching blade, however, met only air.

Caught off-guard with her balance desperately compromised, the young woman stumbled forward, straight into the arms of the waiting ghost. Rayne cried out as the suddenly substantial blue Poe gripped her with icy fingers, pulling her away from the group. She kicked at it, her dagger having slipped from her grip, leaving her with no other alternative means of defense, but the ghost merely evaded the ill-placed blow. 

"Let me go!" she growled, pulling back in an effort to reclaim wrists that were firmly clasped within the creature's nearly invisible clawed hands. She glared at the phantom, her leaf green eyes meeting wicked yellow ones . . . 

_...the bodies were everywhere; no matter where she turned there was a gruesome sight awaiting her. The ground that was not covered by corpses was soaked in blood, dull brown liquid that had previously dried. Birds of prey had already begun to eat at the carnage, picking out eyes that had long since stopped seeing and plucking at entrails that had been spilled by broad swords. The contents of her stomach rose into her throat and it was through sheer force of will that she did not vomit up her modest breakfast._

_A faint cry reached her ears, one that was not of a bird, and with a start she realized someone was still alive. She quickly crossed the killing ground, stopping to listen whenever she feared she had strayed from the correct path. Finally she found him, lying in a growing pool of his own blood. His left arm had been severed just below the shoulder, leaving only a stump where a muscular limb had once connected. He was breathing heavily. A helmet, covered with a coat of arms she did not recognize, was hindering his ability to receive air._

_She knew he was aware of her presence; she could sense eyes observing her from within the armor. She raised her hands, showing her weaponless state, and then cautiously approached the dying soldier. Rayne lowered herself down next to him, fighting the urge to stand up and back away when the smell of rot reached her nose. Infection had set into the already fatal wound; he had been alive and in pain for quite some time. _

_Gently, she reached out to his face and removed the helmet, laying it aside and gasping at what lay underneath. _

_The boy couldn't have been a day over thirteen. His chin was beardless and his cheeks were still slightly round with baby fat. Tracks in the blood and dirt on his face showed the descent of old tears. His dark hair was plastered to his head with sweat and grease. His brown eyes dark with pain and regret._

_"I'm gonna die, aren't I?" His voice was labored, his lips quivering. "Mama always warned me I would, if I kept fighting."_

_"You won't die," Rayne said firmly, reaching out and resting a hand on the festering shoulder. She knew her limits, she couldn't regenerate the arm he had lost but she could destroy the spreading infection and close up the horrendous wound. She reached for his good hand, wrapping it up in one of her own and smiled at his confused expression. "What's your name?"_

_He smiled weakly in return. "Faran."_

_"Well Faran, you don't have to worry. I'm going to heal you, then you can go back to your mom and laugh in her face, okay? Just squeeze my hand if I'm hurting you."_

_He hesitated, and for a moment she feared he would reject her administrations. But to her relief he nodded slightly, increasing the pressure of his grip. His forehead wrinkled slightly, as though he was trying to recall something and failing, "Do I know you from somewhere?"_

_The question took her aback. "No, I don't believe so. Now save your breath; this is going to take a lot out of both of us." She concentrated, as she had so many times before, imagining the rotting flesh falling away, the infected angry red area going back to healthy skin. She burned away the unhealthiness that was eating away at his body, and then pulled her magic back into herself, stopping for a moment to survey her handiwork and regain some energy. _

_But when she opened her eyes the hand in hers was limp and the chocolate brown eyes that met hers were blank in death . . . _

...Rayne came back to consciousness with tears in her eyes and a hard, icy lump in her stomach.The Poe seemed surprised when she lashed out angrily with a fist, catching it in the center of one yellow eye. It dropped her, howling in agony as she regained her footing and her dagger. 

"Don't look into their eyes!" she shouted at Link and Chronos, "They'll cast some sort of illusion on you!"

"Thanks for the warning, kitten," Chronos hissed, slashing one of the phantoms across its mid-section. "Unfortunately we've already had the privilege of discovering that for ourselves."

Rayne looked around and saw that during her almost comatose state, Link had recovered her bow and was now firing bolt after bolt into the oncoming ghosts. Most of the arrows missed their targets as the ghosts dodged and evaded the deadly steel points, but the ones that connected stuck and appeared to cause the Poes on the receiving end quite a bit of annoyance. 

"The arrows hurt them?" she called to Navi who was flitting about the battleground, trying to blind the creatures with her light or, given the chance, poke at the eyes within their hooded faces.

"They can't dodge them as well as they could a sword," the fairy replied, panting from exertion. "If only we had more of them!"

Rayne considered that while she slashed the air to her right in order to discourage a Poe from grabbing her once more. An idea struck her suddenly.

"Link, pass the bow to me!"

He paused, the last arrow already notched and ready to be fired. His face was pale, and Rayne became certain that he too had been captured by a Poe and subjected to visions of the dead and dying. Guilt warred with her initial feelings of surety. If her plan didn't work, or if Link didn't trust her enough to throw the bow, then the Poes would eventually overwhelm their meager defenses and send them slowly into insanity with their atrocious illusions.

To her relief, Link moved quickly, sliding the bow along the mossy ground rather than sending the weapon into the air where the Poes would have a better chance of intercepting it. Rayne caught it up, carelessly discarding the last arrow, much to the bemusement of her fellow travelers. She raised it to eye level, preparing to draw back an empty string.

"What in the name of the Three are you doing?!" Chronos snapped, staring at their last arrow as it rolled to a halt on the ground.

Rayne's face hardened as her eyes became slits of concentration. A spark appeared in the center of the bow, slowly growing in size to become a bluish-orange glow. It lengthened as she pulled back on the bow string, flaming now as it shaped itself, one end becoming pointed, the other sporting four fiery fletches. 

With the string now taut and pulled back to her ear, Rayne released the flare arrow, sending it straight into the circling wall of Poes. Link, Chronos, and Navi watched, breathless, as possibly their last hope flew true toward the enemy.

The Poes, however, sensing the imminent danger to their lives, froze in mid-motion, allowing the arrow to whisk harmlessly by.

Rayne's knees gave out. She fell to ground, the bow skidding away from her fingers as she landed on all fours. Her breathing was ragged; her head was hanging wearily, and she let the fall of her hair cover her features. The blue colored Poe, the one who had grabbed her before, broke the ranks and advanced on the exhausted girl, claw-like fingers raised threateningly.

Rayne raised her head at the last moment; smug emerald eyes once again meeting the Poe's own ugly yellow ones. "This time," she whispered as the whizzing of an arrow speeding through the still, musty air reached the apparition's ears, "I got you."

The flare arrow that had missed before returned like a boomerang and now skewered the Poe from behind, instantly setting it ablaze. It cried out, the screaming akin to the sound of metal scraping against metal while it wheeled about, helplessly trying to remove the magical shaft. Its short arms were unhelpful to its plight, and even though it did grasp the magical bolt once, it was forced to quickly release it when the fire blistered the creature's fingers. Finally, the creature collapsed in on itself, leaving only a glowing lantern in its place and the fire, having completed its purpose, extinguished.

"Anyone else?" Rayne asked innocently, watching the three remaining Poes darkly. 

Knowing they were defeated for now, the three ghosts silently retreated into unknown portions of the Temple, leaving the intruders to themselves as they vanished into the crumbling walls.

"That was truly amazing kitten, but I sincerely doubt you could pull it off another three times." Chronos walked up casually to where she still balanced on all fours. "In fact, I have my doubts about you even being able to rise from that most embarrassing position. That was quite the bluff you just told."

She shot the black feline a sour look. "You're lucky I can't move without falling on my face, cat."

"Yes, I count my blessings," he smirked as his tail flicked back and forth.

Rayne was sure she could have thought of a suitable insult to that, but she was suddenly drawn into a pair of strong arms. She gulped audibly as Link proceeded to put one arm under her knees and the other against her shoulder blades. 

"Wha-what are you doing exactly?" she demanded, squirming uncomfortably.

He looked at her in surprise. "I'm carrying you."

She barely resisted the urge to slap her forehead with the flat of her palm, "_Why_ are you carrying me?"

"You can't walk right?" He shifted his grip on her, smiling slightly when her arms flew around his neck in response, "How else are you supposed to get around?"

She eyed him suspiciously, "You mean you're going to let me come with you now? I thought you were against it before, and now that I'm utterly useless you want me to come along?"

His smile faded, "I would really prefer it if you went back to Kakariko, but seeing as you would kick me the entire way there and then follow me back here anyway–" he sighed when she nodded affirmatively-- "I'm left with the options of carrying you around until you regain your strength, or leaving you alone in this room while we explore the rest of the Temple and search for the Forest Sage. Which would you prefer?"

"Carry on, Captain." She hastily replied, tightening her grip on his neck slightly. "But if you tell anyone at the village about this, I will castrate you."

Chronos laughed pleasantly at Link's stunned expression. "The perfect damsel in distress: you carry her and she threatens to demasculinize you."

"Same goes to you, cat," Rayne growled, casting a dark look over Link's shoulder at the feline's following form. "Chariot deals with animals all the time; I'm sure he would find it beneficial to cats as a species to have you neutered."

"Such low blows kitten; I was only joking."

"Of course you were, Chronos," she shot back as she snatched her bow off the ground when Link bent to retrieve it. "Of course you were."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just wait in the main room until she recovered and then proceed through the rest of the Temple?" Navi questioned as the last Stalfos fell apart, gaping gashes littering the ivory bones that remained.

"If we had stayed there until Rayne recovered then the Poes probably would have attacked again in full force," Chronos replied as he poked at a pile of bones with a small paw, then quickly lost interest. "At least this way we are allowed the chance to catch them unaware and individually." 

"However, there is the unfortunate side effect of my slowing down our pace considerably and putting everyone else in needless danger," Rayne grouched, staring blankly at her now useless bow. "Maybe if I could actually shoot something . . . "

"You can't materialize any more flaming arrows," Chronos reported sternly, jumping onto Link's shoulder so that he would have a vantage point to deliver his hard glare. "It wouldn't accomplish anything other than your eventual demise and Link being forced to carry your dead weight around for an even longer period."

Rayne blushed pink. "I don't know if I could do that again, even if I tried."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You mean you've never done that before?"

"Well, no." Her flush deepened, "I'm afraid that was a first."

Chronos puffed to twice his normal size, sinking claws into Link's collarbone, "Are you telling me that you were betting all our lives on something you've never done before? The spell could have backfired! You could have destroyed the Temple and killed us all!"

Rayne considered it for a moment; she had released and controlled the raw power, and was quite certain that the only reason she and her friends hadn't been completely obliterated was due to pure and simple luck. She hadn't only forced an elemental source to accede to her power, she had actually created the fire, combining roiling emotions with magic and pushing it into a physical form. 

She wasn't about to admit she had never actually seen anyone do such a thing before, the only reason she had even known to try it was because she had read about similar magical abilities in an old folk story. Rayne credited chance for the success of her rough plan, quite sure she didn't have the talent for such an undertaking. She was nearly certain that if she ever attempted such a feat again, the consequences would be far more severe than her strength being drained. Now that her head had cooled and her thoughts were brought full circle, she became aware of the gravity of the past situation. It frightened her.

"But it worked," Link reminded the cat, picking Rayne up from where he had seated her on the ground when the Stalfos had appeared. "I'm sure we'd still be fighting those phantoms if she hadn't done it." He shuddered suddenly. "I don't think I could have taken much more of those false memories anyway."

Rayne blinked up at him, totally floored. "What do you mean 'false memories'?"

Link's mouth went into a grim, unsmiling line. "They showed me fabricated moments, deaths I had never seen before in ways they couldn't have happened."

"And you knew the people in these moments?" Rayne knew she was pressing him too much, but she remembered that Faran, the boy from her own induced vision, had asked if he knew her.

Link flinched, turning his face from hers. "Most of them were once my friends."

She would have liked to discuss it with him further so that they could make sense of her own odd vision, but the torment it caused him made her bite her tongue. She had prodded enough at his emotional scars, both old and new. They could discuss it later.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

They returned to the first room and made their way to the right, Link playing the Song of Time in order to allow them through. Rayne was about to announce that she felt good enough to walk when a Deku Baba appeared and snapped at her. Link quickly disposed of it, but the picture of an open mouth progressing toward her head was something she was not likely to forget.

Link, tired from fighting and carrying an unhappy young woman, finally called for a break.

"If we keep going at this pace you'll eventually pass out." Rayne agreed, allowing Link to set her gently down on the grassy ground. "Besides, this is the perfect place to take a nap."

"I'll take first watch," Chronos volunteered, pretending to stretch while he actually scratched an itch that he hoped wasn't a flea. "I'll wake up the next person in a couple of hours."

"Sounds good," Link murmured as he sat down heavily next to Rayne and began to sift through his pack. After much clanging and cursing he produced strips of dried beef wrapped in a clean linen cloth and a leather canteen. He swished the canteen around, listening to the amount of water it contained, before frowning. "That's strange. I could have sworn we filled it up before we came in here."

Rayne, who had been picking delicate pink and white flowers from small clusters, turned to look at him. "I told you that stupid thing had a hole."

"It does not have a hole," Link argued, although his voice lacked conviction. 

"Hand it to me," Rayne sighed, hand outstretched. "I'll find the leak and fix it."

Link grudgingly passed it to her, interest sparking in the depths of his eyes. He wondered what magic she would employ to mend the troublesome flask. 

Rayne squeezed the leather gently, searching for the hole in the sturdy material. When a squirt of water in the eye assured her of its location, she sighed and grabbed her own knapsack. Sorting through the clutter, she retrieved a mortar and pestle. She poured the remaining water from the canteen into the small bowl, shaking it until the last few drops fell, and then set it to the side. Rayne picked the petals off the flowers she had been collecting, casting them onto the surface of the water until they concealed the glistening fluid. She took the pestle and ground the petals and the water, waiting for it to become pasty in consistency. Then she retrieved the dozens of stems that had been left over from the flowers, squeezing them until the sticky innards dripped into the open mouth of the bowl. She then mashed the mixture viciously.

"Okay, I give up," Link stated as he tried to peer into the bowl to see what had become of the flowery water. "What is it that you're doing?" 

Rayne glanced up at him, then looked back down, sticking her index finger into the concoction. Smiling, she brought her finger back out of the bowl, now covered in an opaque solution. She touched her index finger to her thumb, showing him how they stuck together. "It's a natural adhesive," she replied with a smirk.

He made a face when she wiped her fingers on his tunic, depositing the paste onto the green material. "Is it waterproof?" he asked as he attempted to wipe off the unwelcome gunk.

She nodded, taking a small square of leather out of her pack and spreading the glue along its edges. "It'll need to dry for a few minutes before you can put more water in though," Rayne replied as she stuck the sticky patch to the hole, before handing the newly-repaired flask back to Link, smiling triumphantly. 

He took the offered canteen, examining the patch. The adhesive had done its job; he pulled experimentally at the patch and found that it was sticking nicely. He became slightly distracted when Rayne's small hands gently touched his back, gripping the fabric of his tunic and pulling slightly. He hadn't realized how close she was until he felt her warm breath tickle the back of his neck.

Like a deer caught on an open path with a crossbow aimed at its heart, Link froze. He raised his eyes and looked at her in a stupor. "Huh?" he questioned her intelligently.

Rayne laughed, a pink tinge staining her cheeks as she took her hands away. "You have a rip in your tunic; I was going to fix it."

"Oh," he replied, averting his gaze from hers as his face heated up.

With strangely fumbling fingers, Rayne seized the edge of her own brown tunic, flipping up the edge and removing a small, metal needle. "I don't suppose you have any green thread."

Not trusting his voice, Link simply shook his head. 

"Well then, we'll just have to go with what we have." Rayne gripped a strand of her black hair and pulled, flinching when it came away from her scalp. "It won't be pretty, or permanent, but at least you won't feel a draft," she said, before moving back towards Link.

She deftly sewed the rip in the back of his tunic, biting off the slack and then putting the needle back. The whole time, all that could be heard was the chirruping of a trio of crickets, announcing that darkness had fallen inside the Temple.

"Sewing, patching, picking flowers; I never imagined Rayne could display such girlishness," Chronos' humorous statement floated over to the seated teens.

"I would tell you to bite me, but you'd probably take me seriously," Rayne growled, examining the minute scars on her wrist and glaring into the shadows where Chronos was watching for danger.

"I rather doubt it; you don't particularly suit my palate," came the smug reply. 

"I loathe you," Rayne spat, although she honestly felt much better. The lack of conversation from before had made her uncomfortable.

"Pardon kitten? You _love _me?"

"Loathe, damn it. Not love, _loathe_!"

The good-natured sound of Link's laughter was swallowed by the trading of insults.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Link was amazed at the sight of Rayne producing not one, but two fairly plush blankets from the tiny sack that she dragged along everywhere. Noticing his attention, she spread out the comforters on the ground while explaining, "There is a portal connected to my bag. I coerced, err . . . persuaded, Hierophant to attach it to a different plane so that I could stash essentials into it without having to carry a hundred packs."

"That's a complicated spell," Chronos murmured as he tried to peek into the bag, but even his superb eyesight could see only darkness. "It's also a dangerous one. What if this different level of existence contains lethal monsters?"

"Hierophant already checked everything out," Rayne shot back in a dismissive tone as she lay down on her blanket. "It contains nothing that we need to worry about."

Chronos and Link exchanged questioning glances, but were otherwise silent.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chronos awakened Rayne after what she deemed to be only a couple of minutes, but the cat assured her that a few hours had actually passed. Distrusting his sincerity but not willing to awaken the slumbering Link to ascertain it, she reluctantly took her place as second watch.

She nearly dozed off twice. Splashing herself with icy water from the stream only kept her alert for so long. The third time she didn't make it to the water. Her eyes drifted shut, and her breath came out deep and even.

In her dream she was surrounded by Poes who were trying to get her to look in their eyes.

They scratched at her arms, attempting to force her hands away from her face. Their breath was unbearably hot against her exposed skin, reeking of carrion and sulfur even as their frigid fingers scraped against her flesh.

With a start, she came back to consciousness. Wondering what it was that had awoken her, she yawned and blinked her eyes into focus, only to see a pair of eyes staring straight into hers.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Link rolled out of his blanket when he heard Rayne scream. His hair, which had loosened from the twisted twine that had before kept it in order, now surrounded his shoulders, glowing a pale white in the blackness. His appearance was disheveled, but the hardness of his face showed his readiness. The naked blade of the Master Sword glittered in the weak moonlight as he fell into a crouch, setting himself up to charge.

The sight that met his eyes, however, was a wide-eyed, cowering little girl holding up what looked to be a stuffed bear in defense against a bewildered Rayne.

His sudden movement had attracted the strange girl's attention, her frightened blue eyes flickered toward him and remained there for a long moment, as though measuring him up. She seemed to make a decision, for she rushed over and hid behind his indecisive form, holding up her stuffed animal to conceal her face. "Protect me from the Mori-baba!" she cried.

Her fear forgotten, Rayne heaved herself off the ground. "Mori-baba?!" she growled indignantly, "Who are you calling a Mori-baba?"

"Save me!" the little female pleaded, tugging on his tunic insistently.

"She won't hurt you," Link assured her, dropping down to one knee so that his eyes were level with hers. "What's your name?"

The little girl sniffled, rubbing her palm across an eye. "Haruko."

He smiled, before replying. "That's a very pretty name. My name is Link."

She stared at him innocently, then grinned, showing pearly white teeth. "That's a funny name."

He nodded. "Yes, it is. Now tell me Haruko, what are you doing here? Don't you know this place is dangerous?"

She nodded as solemnly as she could, her blonde hair bobbing with the motion. "I live in Kokiri Forest, in the aban-aban–" her brow furrowed as she tried to pronounce it.

"Abandoned?" Link suggested.

Her eyes lit up, "Uh-huh, I live in the aban-abandoned hut near the doorway."

Chronos, who had remained quiet throughout the introductions, suddenly spoke up. "So are you a Kokiri then?"

Haruko batted her eyelids and looked around, confused. "Who said that?"

"I did," Chronos replied as he hopped up onto Link's shoulder. "Are you a Kokiri?"

Haruko instantly deserted her old stuffed bear and made a grab for the black cat. "Neko can talk!"

Chronos eluded the little girl's reaching fingers, jumping down and running behind Rayne, where he peeked out from behind her bare legs. "Yes, I can speak."

Haruko took a step toward the hiding cat but then recalled who he was standing behind and stopped. "Neko, come away from the Mori-baba!"

"I am _not_ a–" Rayne began indignantly, but Link held up a hand for silence. Rayne's furious gaze locked onto his beseeching one and she threw up her hands in disgruntlement.

"Haruko," he turned back to the child when he was sure Rayne wasn't going to attack him from behind, "Are you a Kokiri?"

The little female shook her head, reclaiming her lost bear, "Uh-uh, I'm a umm . . . Hylian. My parents died a long time ago so Rumpelstiltskin and I came here."

"Err . . . Rumpelstiltskin?"

"My bear, silly."

"Of course," Rayne muttered, "We should have known that."

"You live here by yourself?" Link's face softened when the little girl reached out and touched his hair. "Why don't you seek out a place where people are?"

She stopped tending to a soft tendril of his hair long enough to give him a cheerless smirk. "I don't know who would hurt me and who wouldn't."

Link spun around to Rayne who jumped slightly at his abrupt change of attention. "Do you think we could bring her to Kakariko? They would care for her there, wouldn't they?"

Rayne absently stroked Chronos while she thought. She had erewhile conceived that Haruko might actually be one of Ganondorf's spies undercover, but she had no proof other than a warning feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was too much about the wild child that, frankly, did not add up. She would have shared her deductions with Link, but she was still perturbed at him for, no matter how inadvertently, taking Haruko's side and permitting the little terror to call her such unflattering things. 

Internally, Rayne also admitted that she didn't want to break Link by forcing on him the fact that not everyone was inherently good, and that even those with angelic countenances weren't guaranteed to be what their visages suggested. Regardless, she couldn't bring a possible mole into Arcana; she had already risked the wrath of her fellow rebels when she had let Link accompany her there, and she actually _liked_ him.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea Link," she murmured, ceasing to pet Chronos as she clarified her statement. " If Impa hadn't come forward about knowing you, the rest of the group would have slit your throat, and possibly mine, before I had the chance to explain your presence. They can't jeopardize their position, precarious at it is."

"But," Link put a hand on Haruko's shoulder, "We can't just leave her here," he said, looking at Rayne imploringly. 

"Neither can we bring her with us." Rayne reminded him.

"Rayne... please?" the strain in Link's tone weakened her resolve. "If we leave her out here, she might not survive."

"I–"she faltered, startled at Chronos' silvery voice whispering in her ear, "You could warn Arcana ahead of time that she was suspicious and that she requires close observation."

Rayne sighed. "They won't be pleased," she whispered back.

"No," the black cat replied as his tail flicked against her neck, "But Link will."

"Oh shut up," she said, scowling at the feline for a second before looking back to Link. "Very well, I'll contact the other members of Arcana and try to convince them to consent to her accompanying us. But I can't ensure anything." 

Link's eyes lit up and he began beaming at Rayne, who found her face coloring to a nice shade of pink. She promptly turned back to look at Chronos, who was busy snickering to himself about Link being the light of Rayne's world. 

Outwardly, Rayne was a little embarrassed, and more than a little irritated at a certain feline's teasing. Inwardly however, her heart was certain that Link's beam was enough of a reward for whatever troubles she might encounter.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Author's Notes: Feel free to criticize Rayne's obvious affections for Link or the Hero of Time's apparent schizophrenia. My sister has already pointed these things out to me, but it's too late to fix them. 

Haruko is the last original character I will introduce into Dreamers (I think o.O). For those of you who don't know what the hell she's going on about when she spouts some odd words, it's Japanese, much like her name. Although I'm limited in my knowledge of the language, I'm fairly certain they're translated something like this:

Haruko - Spring Child

Neko - Cat/Kitty

Mori-baba - Forest Hag 

I don't know why I did it, Mori-baba just sounds better than writing Forest Hag.

I'm sorry this chapter came so late, to be perfectly honest I wasn't sure it was going to come around at all. I hit rock bottom, I thought my writing was too childish, too obvious, and simply not good enough to compete with the other stories in the Zelda archives. I'm over it now (all the positive reinforcement from friends and family, along with several death threats helped this process along) but it was touch and go for a while there.

Now, onto the reviewers:

In response to Casavenna: Wow, two reviews? In the same day even, I feel so special *Grins*. I hope you're still alive to read this, it took a very long time to kick myself into gear and get this chapter finished. 

In response to GuruGuru214: Oh, you think you can joke around with me just because you leave good reviews? I've decided it's a bad idea to let people blurt whatever they're currently thinking into a review, so even if you had guessed all I would say is 'Maybe'. 

I never changed my plans for Rayne (although I did change just about everything else), she has remained a constant in an otherwise turbulent story. 

By the way, I'm old enough to take you over my knee and spank you (not in the GOOD way), so still those flapping lips and unhinged tongue :P. 

In response to Talent Scout: Like I told GuruGuru214, I'm not about to confirm or deny anything. You'll just have to read the next few chapters to find out :). I'm sorry you think the plot is moving too slowly, I like taking my time with these things.

In response to The Pilot: It's good to hear you aren't too disgusted with me, I hope this chapter proved less troublesome. The relationship between Rayne and Chronos is an odd one, they're usually insulting one another but they have their moments. 

The week you were gone proved to be of no consequence, my unreasonable crisis lasted much longer than your vacation.

Thank you for correcting chapter twenty, and I liked the little blurb you added at the end (It seemed incomplete when I wrote it, but I couldn't think of anything else to add).

In response to Girl With Many Names: Aww, thank you so much for putting my mind at ease, I almost cried in happiness when I saw your name on a review and what you had written. Those chapters were kind of like an early Christmas present (mainly because I didn't update in December), so this chapter could be taken as... a Valentine's Day gift?

In response to Vegita43: I checked my stats to find your first review and it put a smile on my face. I looked at my reviews a second time and I had to laugh. Thank you very much for saying what you thought. It's nice to hear the work of a misunderstood author is appreciated by some people.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


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	21. Once Burned, Twice Shy

Rayne seated herself, grabbing necessary tools out of her knapsack and piling them in a small collection of odds and ends at her side. First, she selected several modest bottles filled with various colored liquids. Then she gathered to her an ivory bowel, a long feather of russet shade, a mahogany-backed hand mirror, and two tapering green candles.

At the edges of her vision, she saw Haruko stealthily picking up the items she had chosen, examining them and placing them carefully pack into their original locations. Rayne resisted the urge to slap the little girl's hands away from the precious objects, knowing it would be a petty course of action. Instead she flatly informed the child, "If you break anything, you shall have to compensate me for it."

Haruko paid Rayne's warning no heed as she picked up the feather and ran it across her face, giggling.

Rayne looked heavenward in irritation, and then caught Link watching her.

"What?" the word came out with an unintentional snap. She sighed internally, knowing very well that she was overstepping the bounds of civility. She needed to concentrate in order to unleash the appropriate amount of magical power, but it was hard when all her nerves felt like they had been charged with an amount of electricity that had been strictly regulated to thunder storms.

Link shrugged uneasily, "I was just wondering what you were planning on accomplishing with all that-" he trailed off upon not being able to find the proper word, and gestured mutely to her accumulated pile.

"Junk." Haruko supplied willfully, placing the feather back in its place, balancing it precariously on the edges of the pale bowel.

Rayne's eyes darkened dangerously, "It is not _junk_, it is important magical equipment.

"Junk." Haruko disagreed brightly, "Fun junk though."

Rayne counted mentally to ten, allowing her fingers to clench and unclench with each ascending number. She was never going to procreate, little Haruko had convinced her what an unwise course of action it would be.

Link, realizing her temper was beyond the point of frayed, stepped up. "Haruko, why don't we wash in the stream? You've gotten dirt on your face."

Haruko seemed to consider the offer seriously while she fidgeted with the stuffed arms of her teddy bear. "I suppose, but only if you bathe with me!"

Rayne blushed hotly as the thought of Link in an unclothed state flashed, unbidden, through her mind. Beside her, Navi made a disgusted noise. "Now I'm going to have to burn out the part of my brain that provides mental images." the fairy grumbled.

"Here, here." Chronos agreed, licking a paw clean.

"Could I _please _have some quiet?" Rayne snarled, giving each person and magical creature in her humble assembly an annoyed glance. "I'm trying to contact Empress."

"Are we interrupting your fragile concentration, kitten? If so, we are so very--" he was forced to cut off his taunt midway to avoid the flat throwing stone that Rayne had conjured up from seemingly nowhere.

"Mori-baba's trying to hurt neko!" Haruko cried.

Rayne's eye twitched as she turned her stony expression on Link. "If you do not shut both of them up at this immediate time, I will teleport them to the nearest monster infested dimension and leave them to fend for themselves!"

Link sighed; he was becoming tired of playing mediator. "Haruko; her name is Rayne and she doesn't appreciate being called a Mori-baba." He turned to the scowling black cat, "Chronos, if you don't have anything productive to add to the conversation, then keep your mouth shut."

"Thank-" Rayne began, but started when Link's stern gaze was also turned upon her.

"Rayne, could you try to be a little less temperamental? Haruko's just a kid and Chronos is... well inexcusably Chronos."

Rayne pursed her lips, finding her flaring anger suddenly evanescing. "Very well."

"Good." Link's customary smile had returned. "Now about that bath."

Rayne pointedly banged her head against the nearest object, her knapsack, in a feeble attempt to force inappropriate images into oblivion. A slight tug on her shirt made her raise her head to a suddenly diffident Haruko.

"Would mori... err... Rayne, like to take a bath with me?"

"Umm..." Rayne looked pleadingly to Link, who had conveniently turned his back on her to examine the magical objects on the grass. She cursed him mentally, knowing full well that he had been the one to suggest her company rather than his own to Haruko.

"Please?" Haruko insisted, giving the material of her shirt another light pull. "Link-kun said he wouldn't watch."

Rayne groaned, lifting herself up off the ground. If she disagreed, she would be spitting in the face of the rules Link had inadvertently established; it was a hateful ultimatum. "Alright, I guess a bath would be nice."

"Oh yay! Girl time." Navi cheered, "Let's get away from those icky boys and talk."

Haruko's eyes lit up, "Yeah! Icky boys."

Chronos sneezed in disapproval, "I disfavor being lumped into the 'icky' category."

"Too bad, _neko_." Rayne purred. "And no peeping."

"I have neither a wish for blindness, nor premature death." Chronos replied easily.

"Chronos..." Link warned, his back still turned away.

"Oh very well... I promise not to peek at you." the cat spit out distastefully. "I'm currently of a completely different species anyway, it's not like I would think anything of your nakedness. Do you make your house cat wear a blindfold when you shed your clothing?"

Rayne turned, affronted. She ticked off reasons on her fingers. "First of all, you're only _currently _a cat; your true form is most likely not. Secondly, I don't have a house cat; they aren't exactly a commodity today. And thirdly, even if I did have a cat, it couldn't make lecherous or insulting comments while I'm in an unadorned state."

"... Oh go on," the cat grumbled, "I can smell you from here..."

Haruko's perplexed, tinkling laughter made Chronos' ears lay horizontal against his head.

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

"Done." Rayne informed the two males, wringing excess water out of her hair. "You can turn around now."

Link did as she had bid, grinning at her in a way that, had any other man done it, would have made her suspicious. "Are you going to contact Impa about Haruko now?"

"Yes." Rayne seated herself next to the blonde swordsman, reaching for the bowel and the glass containers. She carefully released several measured drops into the pale bowel from the assorted bottles, eyes tiny slits in somber application and her tongue sticking out ever so slightly while she worked. When all of the fluids had been poured in, she inspected the resulting brew, and then nodded satisfactorily.

"I'm not even going to ask." Chronos muttered, eyes following the path of a lone butterfly fluttering through the air.

Rayne pinched the wicks of the two green candles, igniting them without a second thought. A grin pulled at the edges of her mouth, she was growing out of her novice sorceress stage with more haste than she could have imagined.

She grabbed the feather and, using its quill, carved an archaic character into the ground, a roughly B-shaped symbol.

"What's that?" Haruko questioned, peering at the character.

"It's a rune." Rayne supplied, continuing the magical process while she spoke, "It is the symbol of the person I'm trying to contact. When I etch it below the tools I'm using to communicate with, it makes sure that no one can interrupt or listen in on the conversation. It can only be heard by myself and my friend."

"Unless a mage stronger than you and your friend, breaks the seal of the rune." Chronos interjected, his green eyes introspective. "It is quite possible, considering Ganondorf has probably already been alerted of our presence within the Temple, and is more than likely searching for a way to watch our movements."

Rayne twisted her neck to look at the cat. "Are you saying using magic would give away our location?"

The cat's face was grim, "I'm saying that it's a plausible theory. If Ganondorf is seeking a way to spy on us, you're opening up a window and waving a flag."

Rayne worried at her chapped lips, glancing at Link for instruction. He was chewing on a blade of grass thoughtfully, watching Haruko who had lost interest in the adult dialogue and was now chasing after the ghostly figures of airborne dandelion seeds.

"How long would it take him to tap into Rayne's magical channel?" Link asked finally, a suggestion of discomfort in his voice.

"It depends." Chronos informed him, licking the pad of a small paw while thinking. "If he knows Rayne's magical signature, it might only take a few seconds for him to lock on, breaking the seal would take mere minutes."

"Magical signature?" Rayne asked the obvious question and ignored the slight burn in her cheeks. "You mean he might be able to recognize my particular brand of magic?"

"You used a high level magical spell in the main chamber of the Temple." The black cat reminded her, "It's feasible that he felt it and imprinted it into his memory, that's how he's caught mages for years, if you'll recall. Once he has it impressed in his mind, he'll be able to track you whenever you use a spell."

Rayne sighed, "So what you're telling me is it's no longer safe to use my powers?"

"No, all I'm saying is he will discern our location, what he does with that information could turn dangerous. Chances are he won't take us as much of a threat at the moment. We've only destroyed a few of his guard-dogs, and we haven't begun to solve any of the puzzles in this place, so perhaps he'll just leave us alone."

"But there's still a chance that he'll send his minions after us." Rayne returned, "This is becoming awfully troublesome…"

Haruko jumped into Rayne's lap suddenly, startling the young woman. "I can help!" she insisted, tugging on her tunic, "I'm good at helping!"

"Help how?" Rayne asked. It was strange how comfortable she felt around the little girl now; their 'girl time' had drained her of tension. She sincerely hoped the young girl's innocence wasn't a ruse, or a well cast spell, but there was frankly no way she could ascertain that it was not. The thought made her uneasiness rise again and a bitter taste entered her mouth. She could handle a betrayal, Link could not.

"I could tell you if he's trying to find us." The little girl made a face at Rayne, as though the young woman should have known her answer all along. "I know how to do that."

Chronos spoke up before Rayne had managed to find a suitable reaction. "You possess magical talent?"

The little girl nodded, "Uh-huh. Lots."

"Truly…" Chronos looked at the girl for a long moment before continuing his thoughts, "Very well, tell us if you feel anything."

Rayne looked at the cat incredulously, "Are you sure, Chronos?"

"Quite." The cat was still watching Haruko, "Perform your spell."

Rayne hesitated, feeling the underlying current of realization that she wasn't privy to. She didn't believe Chronos would put them all in such danger just to prove a point; that Haruko, in fact, had no magical aptitude. Still, there were some very strange happenings occurring right under her nose, she just couldn't seem to cross her eyes and look at them yet.

There was also the minor detail of her not completely trusting the little girl. Yes, she was less wary of her, but that didn't mean she was willing to rely on her, considering the gravity of the current circumstances. She looked at Chronos, attempting to find some hidden message in his feline expression, but there was no apparent warning, no implication that she should beware placing faith on this possible spy. His face was as readable as stone.

"Fine." Rayne agreed huffily, placing the mirror atop the rune on the ground and situating the two candles on the left and right sides of it so that their light touched the edges of the reflective surface. "But don't blame me if we find ourselves in an unfortunate situation."

She grasped the feather, dipping it lightly into the solution she had concocted inside the ivory bowel. When she had surmised that it had absorbed as much of the liquid as it could, she removed it and gently wiped the plume against the surface of the mirror. The effect was instantaneous and discernible; the mirror darkened and the flames of the candles turned a scorching white color. At first, all that could be seen were faint, shifting shadows and imprecise shapes, but they quickly solidified into a startled Impa's face.

'Goddess!' the warrior sheikah cried, her face disappearing momentarily, a loud thump echoing oddly through the mirror only moments afterward.

"Empress?" Rayne put her face closer to the mirror, cautiously using Impa's title rather than her true name. She knew it made no real difference, Link had, unthinkingly, used the sheikah's name when he had asked her permission to bring along Haruko. Still, using the pseudonym made her feel better. "Are you alright?"

Impa's face reappeared, looking slightly disheveled, 'Yes, you just gave me a fright is all.'

"How so?"

'Well,' Impa smoothed her hair back from her face, 'If a face appeared in your cup of coffee, you'd be reasonably stunned as well.'

"Sorry." Rayne giggled. "I didn't realize it would do that."

'Well it did, but no real harm done.' The female sheikah's face turned serious, 'Why are you contacting me? Are you in trouble?'

"Not really," Rayne had enough sense to look sheepish; she was only supposed to contact Kakariko if something crucial was taking place. "You see, we met a young girl here, and I was just curious to know if it would be safe to bring her back to Kakariko…"

'You met a girl in the Temple?' Impa's tone was colored with disbelief, 'How in the Goddesses' names did she end up _there_?'

"Apparently, she's an orphan, and she's been living in Kokiri Forest for quite some time alone." Rayne glanced at the young girl who seemed oblivious to what was going on around her. Haruko's eyes were glassy and vague; her breathing coming out so evenly that it was almost like she had fallen asleep sitting up. Her bear, Rumpelstiltskin was tucked securely under one arm while the other trailed loosely over the surrounding grass. Her focus was elsewhere; perhaps she hadn't lied about her prowess in the magical area after all. "Anyway, Link and I think it would be beneficial if she came to Kakariko."

'Beneficial how?' Impa growled, 'Listen to me, Rayne. Don't let your affections influence your judgment. We can _not_ take any risks. You believe this child is dangerous; your using my arcane name is proof enough of that. If you do not think it safe enough to speak my name around her, why would you bring her straight into our base of operations?'

Rayne paused, glancing at Link and hoping he hadn't overheard Impa. "I don't trust her." She admitted in a whisper, "But what if I'm just suffering from paranoia like everyone else in Kakariko? I refuse to leave a child to rough it out in the wild, Empress, even if that child is a spy."

'Rayne…'

"Just watch her, Empress." Rayne pleaded, "If she does anything even remotely shifty, we can get rid of her. Moon can even read her mind and see if she has any hidden agendas."

Impa sighed, closing her eyes as she cogitated. When she opened them again, they were grave. 'You know this is chancy, you were never like this before he came.'

"Empress-!" Rayne began, but Impa's swift gesture for quiet silenced her.

'I understand, calm yourself.' Impa massaged her temples, and Rayne felt a stab of guilt when she realized that she was giving the female warrior a headache. 'You may return with the child in tow.'

Rayne smiled. "Thank you."

'Don't thank me yet.' Impa warned her, 'the others will not like this, so don't expect a warm welcome when you return.'

"I know." Rayne ran a hand through her hair to relieve accumulated tangles. "Trust me, I know."

'You'll need more arrows as well, I assume.' Impa stated, 'I'll tell Hierophant to send more bolts into that parallel dimension of yours; you should get them fairly soon, Chariot made them last night.'

"He's found us." Haruko's small voice interrupted Rayne's reply. The young woman turned to see the strange child frowning in consternation. "He's trying to break in."

Rayne's eyes narrowed and she expanded her magical senses to find another presence threatening her seal. It was like the magical equivalent of someone attempting to bang down her locked door, and not even bothering to be stealthy about it.

"Shit." Rayne snapped whole-heartedly.

'Rayne?' Impa's face warped into one of worry, 'What is it?'

"Five seconds." Haruko guessed aloud, "Hayaikoto."

"I've got to go." Rayne said hastily, and, without waiting for a reply, severed the link by snuffing out the candles.

Haruko's brow furrowed, "He's trying to follow the trail."

"He can still find them." Chronos' fur bristled, his needle sharp teeth bared in feral fear. "You opened up a gateway in the magical barrier around Kakariko when you used the Empress' sigil."

"What do I do?" Rayne cried. If he tracked the signal, he might be able to open his own scrying pool inside Kakariko. From there, the possibilities were endless. "Damn, damn, damn!"

Haruko rose from her sitting position, picked up the mirror, and, without a trace of emotion, hit it against the ground where the rune was sketched. The mirror shattered from the force, pieces of glass flying out of its mahogany prison and tinkling out onto the ground in silvery shards. The sigil of the Empress flickered once and then vanished.

Rayne blinked, recognizing that the opening in the barrier had just been effectively closed. The mirror and rune, the only artifacts that had left a residual trail, were now destroyed. The thought to break the object over the symbol hadn't entered her panicking mind, but how had Haruko known to do such a thing?

The young girl smiled at Rayne. "Did I do good?" she asked, placing the broken item carefully onto the ground, as though suddenly recognizing its fragility when it was ruined.

"Yes." Rayne relaxed, returning her easy smile. She was finding it increasingly difficult to be guarded around Haruko, she just wasn't sure if that would be advantageous in the long run. "You did very good."

Haruko frowned suddenly, a pout overtaking her expression. "Do I have to pay for it?"

Rayne looked at her, perplexed before she remembered what she had said about compensation for broken items. It was strange, the little girl was wise one moment and childish the next without a pause in between. "No." she laughed, "You don't have to pay me for it."

The little girl beamed, hugging her teddy bear tightly. "I do good." She giggled, "I do good."

Rayne turned to Link, who had barely spoken during the proceedings. She was surprised to see a forbidding look on his face as the Master Sword sang out of its sheath. "Trouble." He growled.

Chronos nodded in concurrence, "Ganondorf knows where we are, he's sending one of his underlings after us."

Rayne nodded, instinctively grabbing Haruko and putting the little girl behind herself. "Stay." She instructed her, drawing her dagger and falling into a fighting stance.

For a long moment nothing happen, Rayne became acutely aware of the sound of her heart, pounding a frightened rhythm inside her chest. Her bow was strapped securely to her back, but her quiver was empty of projectiles. There was little chance that she could repeat her flare arrow trick, not with the way it had affected her before. The likelihood of coming out of this fight unscathed was beginning to look less and less probable.

She glanced at Haruko, wondering if the little girl would be helpful in the encroaching fight, then immediately dismissed the idea. There was simply no way she would let her fight Poes, the monsters were too hazardous for a girl her age to deal with.

The silence was broken suddenly as Poe with yellow colorings erupted out of the nearby well, spraying them all with droplets of crystal clear water.

"Get down!" Chronos yelled as the Poe made a beeline toward Rayne and Haruko, black claws outstretched and seeking flesh.

Rayne dived down after Haruko, claws grazing the top of her scalp and extracting blood. She blinked as it dribbled into her eyes, wiping the liquid away with the back of her hand and sitting up just in time to see the Poe returning for another swipe at her. She gritted her teeth, diving to the side and avoiding a fatal blow to the throat.

She uttered a foul oath, forced to dodge once more as the creature dive-bombed her. Link was at her side, a precise blow to the middle of the Poe going unnoticed as it turned its abdomen insubstantial. The hero was required to fall back in order to escape a swipe at his chest, giving as little ground as possible and allowing Rayne and Haruko to flee to a safe distance.

"It's after me." Rayne panted, "I killed the other Poe and this one's seeking revenge."

Haruko's eyes widened, "Can you kill this one too?"

"Doubtful." Rayne pulled her bow out of its strap, drawing back the string, "But I can try…"

Chronos was there in an instant, sinking his sharp teeth into her ankle to catch her attention. "Don't." He growled, "It would kill you."

"And if I don't, it'll kill everyone else." She snarled, kicking her foot out in an effort to dislodge the angry feline. "Now let go!"

The cat obliged, freeing her captured limb, "Forget the bow," he hissed, displaying teeth stained with her blood. "Use your dagger."

"It won't work." Rayne was taking careful aim, butterflies the size of hawks fluttering around in her stomach. "It didn't work before, it won't work now."

"Focus your magical energy into the dagger, you idiot." Chronos was observably considering biting her once more, "You haven't tried _that_ before, it doesn't use nearly as much magic as materialization does."

Rayne gnawed on the inside of her lip and tasted blood. She wondered briefly how many miniscule wounds it would take for her to bleed to death; she certainly had enough of them by now. She dropped the bow, flinching as the spry wood hit the ground and bent at an unnatural angle before taking its original arching form. She recovered her dagger, concentrating on the blade fiercely. The knife made a screeching sound of protest, and Rayne eased up, terrified that it would break into pieces and she would be left with no weapon.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Link desperately trying to hold the attention of the yellow Poe while she spelled her knife. He was covered with cuts and bruises, visibly tiring as he continued to jump out of the Poe's attack range, only to have to dart forward and slash at it to regain its notice.

The blade lengthened slightly, runes flitting across the silver sheen of the surface before disappearing into the now semi-translucent metal. Several inches longer and glowing faintly with wind magic, Rayne stared at her accomplishment with disbelief. Had she meant to instill her dagger with such a mischievous element?

"Rayne!" Link's shout brought her back just in time to see the Poe's enraged form coming directly at her.

She hefted the blade into one hand, noting its lightness with some surprise. Rayne drew the hand with the dagger closer to her body then whipped it outward, letting the knife fly at high speed toward the oncoming Poe.

The dagger hit the yellow Poe high on its forehead, the blade, unhampered by worldly laws, soaring through the back of the fiend's head with no visible loss of velocity. The creature collapsed, a shriek escaping its jagged lips and it reached toward the sky as though seeking redemption. But none was forth coming, the Poe dissipated, transforming into a lantern that burned with a sickly yellow flame that quickly went out, leaving only an empty glass vessel.

Rayne sat down, hard, her breathing harsh as she examined the wall that her dagger had literally flown through, a perfectly circular hole in the stone clearly showing its departure. She pondered how many obstacles it would take to even initiate slowing the pace of the enchanted blade. "Is everyone okay?"

"I feel like I waded through a room filled with unsheathed swords." Link remarked, sitting next to her. "But I'll be alright."

"That was awesome!" Haruko remarked, jumping around with all the energy of a rambunctious child. "Can you do it again?"

"No." Rayne fell onto her back, rewarded by painful sunlight streaming into her eyes. "Lovely."

"A little pain let's you know you're alive." Chronos settled himself on Rayne's stomach, trying in vain to make his fur lay flat once more. "We probably shouldn't be resting like this; another Poe may be on the way."

"Let it kill me." Rayne grouched, throwing a hand over her eyes and wincing when she hit the sensitive wound on her head. "Ow…"

"Good attitude to have about it, kitten."

"Yes," she didn't seem to realize that Chronos' words had been of the sarcastic variety. She was much too tired for such things.

Someone yawned, and everyone turned to see Navi coming out of Link's hat. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and blinked blurrily, "Did I miss anything?" she slurred.

Replies were scarce through fits of laughter.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"How close do you think we are to finding the Forest Sage?" Navi asked Rayne conversationally while Link climbed up an old wall coated in glossy green vines.

"You want an estimate?" Rayne asked, holding one of Haruko's arms to dissuade her from following the blonde warrior on his perilous ascent. "Never."

"That's the spirit, kitten." Chronos' tail was twitching nervously as he watched Link. "Have you ever heard of the word 'jinx'?"

"There's a door up here." Link called down to the others, "I'll check it out, then come back down."

"I don't like the thought of leaving him to his own devices." Rayne confessed to the rest of the grounded group. "Maybe someone should go up there with him."

"I'll go." Navi volunteered, standing up on Rayne's shoulders and, with a flick of her tiny, transparent wings, propelling herself into the air.

"Why don't I feel any better…?" Chronos questioned Rayne unenthusiastically when the blue fairy had disappeared from view.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Link landed the killing blow to the skull creature, shifting his shield onto his muscled back and slipping the Master Sword in its decorated scabbard. He wiped perspiration from his brow, snorting in disgust at how out of shape he felt. He had discovered a map of the Temple in the hallway, misplaced and dusty with age, but there was nothing else worthwhile.

He exited, surprised by the affronted plant on the other side of the doorway that attempted to take his face off. He disposed of it swiftly, glancing around from his vantage point and seeing what looked to be a switch on a balcony opposite him. However, there seemed to be no way to progress across.

"Rayne!" he called down to her, hauling himself up onto the railing and balancing so that he could just make out the top of her head. "Do you have anything that I could use to get over there?"

Rayne looked up, a horrified air about her. "You moron! Get off of there!"

Link frowned, why was she always so worried? He knew what he was doing, to a point anyway. "Do you have anything or not?"

She grumbled something he knew was a derogatory statement about his intelligence before opening her pack and fumbling around with its contents. Several minutes of searching and Rayne produced a strange looking item that had Link squinting in bemusement.

"It's a hookshot." Rayne explained, "Hanged Man invented it a while ago, it's kind of like a spring loaded grappling hook."

"Toss it up." Link shouted, eager to see for himself what this peculiar tool was capable of.

Rayne shook her head negatively, "Are you nuts? What if you lose your equilibrium?"

"I won't." he assured her, taking one foot off the rusty railing to show her just how stable he was. "See?"

"Don't!" she cried, "I'll throw it up, just don't do that again!"

He smiled, placing his foot back down on the metal balustrade. She frightened easily, at least she seemed to whenever he was involved. That last thought made him grimace, maybe he should have been a little kinder to her; Rayne was only looking out for his well-being and he couldn't begrudge her that. Perhaps he wouldn't take as many risks from now on.

"Link!" Navi warned him hastily.

He blinked out of his train of thought, and was promptly gifted for it by a metallic item hitting him full in the face. Link plummeted backward onto the floor, dust spiraling up from around him as he tried to figure out what had just happened. His head ached intensely, and a tentative touch to his forehead assured him that there was a knot forming around an already bruising area. He sat up slowly, clenching his teeth as nausea assaulted him.

"Link!? Link, can you hear me!?" Rayne's desperate yelling echoed painfully in his hurting head, "Oh Goddesses, I've killed him!"

"I'm alright." He said weakly, hoping she had heard him. He looked around to find the hookshot next to him, polished blue and silver metal shining mockingly. "But I think I hate you."

"I thought you were going to catch it!" Rayne shouted back, all guilt gone from her tone, "What were you doing? Daydreaming?"

"Not even close." He picked himself up, leaning down and grabbing the hookshot while holding a hand to his wound. "Were you planning on doing the same thing to me that you did to that Poe?"

Stony silence was the only answer to his query. The idea of being more pleasant toward Rayne had taken a dive.

He aimed for a roughly hewn patch of stonework, pulling the trigger-like device on the handle and watching in fascination as the razor sharp hook gripped onto the target he had chosen. He pulled on the trigger again and was lifted off his feet and sent through the air, his shins hitting both railings as he was pulled from one balcony to the other.

"See?" Chronos said accusingly to Rayne as they watched the blonde hero's excruciating flight. "We've been jinxed."

But Rayne's interest wasn't with the cat, "Does anyone hear that?"

Haruko glanced up at Rayne, ceasing to chew on the damp ear of her stuffed bear long enough to ask, "Hear what?"

Chronos' ears were twitching forward and back, his superior hearing identifying the sound that eluded Rayne. "It sounds like water draining."

"That's the well that the Poe came out of." Link clarified, dropping off the wall to land gracefully next to them. "There was a switch on the balcony that opened the drain pipe."

Rayne's hand flew to her mouth when she saw the damage she had dispensed. "Oh… that's quite a lump I gave you."

He touched the injury self-consciously, "And whose fault is that?"

She proffered him a guilty grin. "I am sorry, I didn't mention it before, but I am."

Link smirked and a delightfully warm sensation assailed her insides. She was beginning to dislike that smile, the way his eyes crinkled at the corners made her weak in the knees. Rayne solemnly vowed to quash her feelings for the hero, knowing full well that they would go unrequited.

"It's fine." Link assured her, "The excruciating agony has subsided into a dull ache and the spots in front of my eyes are appreciably smaller."

Rayne shook her head, "He can handle phantoms; he can take slay possessed plants and livid monsters with ease. But one measly knock to the head by a woman and the hero gets all weepy."

"Not weepy." Link disagreed, "Just whiny."

The young woman sighed in faux aggravation, reaching up and touching two fingers to Link's swollen brow. Colorless light sprung from her fingertips, intense enough to make the blonde male shut his eyes against the radiance.

The process was slow, mainly due to her waned magical energy. Her manifestation of a fiery arrow from before was still weighing heavily on her. She knew that conservation of her remaining power would have been more prudent, but Rayne couldn't seem to make her hand disconnect. She had begun to mend the miniscule wound; there was no sense in discontinuing the procedure.

After several minutes of stretching to meet Link's superior height, her muscles gave an objective twinge of discomfort. Her mouth pursed, "You're too tall." She complained, stepping up onto the tips of her toes and leaning forward.

Unfortunately, Link had assumed that her grunted protest insinuated that he should take action. He inclined himself to better accommodate the cranky Rayne, eyes still closed against her mage light. Their noses met in a clumsy crash, causing Link's eyelids to shoot open and Rayne to make a small noise of shock. Their lips were inches apart, so near that she could catch the scent of sweet grass on his breath. She sincerely wanted to close the gap and call it an accident. Kiss him, then blush and stutter and claim that she had tripped. The thought was exceptionally enticing.

She sighed, her own warm inhalation coming back to tease against her already hot skin; she wasn't bold enough to attempt the feat that ran a circular marathon in her head. Her nerve retreating in banishment, she began to back away, only to have a rush of vertigo make her head spin.

It was another of the visions; the bile rising in the back of her throat confirmed it. She had thought herself rid of the cursed things, the recollections that were not her own but still managed to plague her. Spots of color pranced across her line of sight; distorting Link's nearby face. She registered a weak amount of mystification when the scene did not radically alter. There was a soft pressure against her lips in the visualization, undemanding but not perceptibly inadvertent.

Again, it was a younger version of the man who had become her traveling companion, his countenance relaxed while he placed a harmless kiss on her lips. Rayne suddenly had no doubts as to whose memories she was subject to; Malon had been Link's first love, it was unadulterated idiocy to assume that she hadn't also been his first kiss.

He concluded the contact, stepping back to give her an affection glance. "Goodnight." He murmured distractedly, walking toward a building her limited sight could not distinguish before fading out into the background.

Malon's perception faded away, leaving only Rayne to deal with the images she had witnessed.

"Was it another of those visions?" Chronos asked once the young woman had situated her mind into proper working order.

"Yes, I thought they had withdrawn, but it seems that they were just lying in wait for me to drop my guard." There was bitterness in the words; she could hear it as well as the others. She didn't want to channel the memoir of a girl who had been dead for seven years, but it didn't appear to be optional to decline.

"What was it?" Link asked, hopeful as ever. "What did you see?"

Rayne had expected that query and had been scouring her brain for a credible lie. Admittance to kissing him, however indirectly, was not something she was approaching divulging.

"Oh honestly, what kind of gentleman are you?" Chronos' intrusive voice made her blood turn to ice; the cat was unsettlingly perceptive. Her brain suspended all function, leaving her to watch him jump onto the lip of the well with rising dread. "It is prominently clear, what with the manner in which she's been studying you, that the vision was very much intimate. Gentlemen simply do not ask after matters of intimacy."

Link's face was mercifully blank, allowing Rayne the chance to fill her lungs with air. If he wasn't immediately angered at Chronos' habit of blowing instances out of proportion, then there was no grounds for her to tear the cat's unhinged tongue out of his maw.

Haruko pouted, "What's 'intimacy'?"

"Ah, well you see-" Chronos started, his tone purposefully sagacious.

"And down the well we go!" Rayne cheered, pushing Chronos off the edge and into the gaping abyss, satisfied that the black cat yowled all the way down.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

"It's dark down here." Haruko sulked after tripping over an inconspicuous rock protrusion in the ground. "I can't see anything."

Navi flitted onto the young girl's shoulder, her fairy body shedding adequate light to see the path ahead.

Haruko smiled, "Arigatou, yousei."

"Umm… you're welcome?" the fairy hazarded.

The little girl's elated giggles assured Navi that her choice of words hadn't been entirely erroneous.

"There's something sparkling in the corner, over there." Rayne pointed out, holding out her index finger to guide Link against the swelling darkness. "Do you see it?"

The hero's steps quickened until he made it to the end of the dripping corridor. He bent over; picking up the glittering object Rayne had informed them of. "It's a key." He held it up to Navi so that the others could inspect it. "A really worn key from the looks of it."

"There was a door in the main chamber that was locked, the one to the right when we entered, do you think this is its key?"

"It looks about the right size." Chronos ventured, launching himself onto Link's shoulder and sniffing it curiously. He sneezed, "We'll be lucky, however, if it doesn't crumble the second we place it into the lock; it reeks of rust."

"It'll hold." Rayne assured the cat, "I can halt the corrosive process."

"I'm becoming tired of repeating myself." The cat pounced back down onto the slick walkway, swiveling his head to look disdainfully at Rayne. "An overuse of your magic could, and will, result in a fatality. You've materialized, infused, healed, and scryed, all in the past forty-eight hours; that's more than most mages do in months. It's remarkable that you can still string together coherent sentences."

Rayne ground her teeth to keep a nasty retort from Haruko's virgin ears. Chronos seemed to have taken insulting her even more seriously after his brief trip down the well.

"It'll be fine, Rayne." Link cut in, "I'll just have to be careful with it."

She felt proficiently deflated; Link had the uncanny ability to do that: dispel the hostility before it had been breached. "Do what you want." She said noncommittally.

"Ghosty coming." Haruko reported, hugging her stuffed animal closer to herself protectively.

Rayne frowned severely, adrenaline pumping through her veins when she reached for the dagger she no longer possessed. She was unarmed, only her bow remained out of her previous arsenal, and she had no bolts for it. The young woman knew her limitations in the magic sector as well, although the pretentious Chronos seemed to doubt her erudition in the subject.

"Do you have any hidden weapons?" Link asked her when he noticed her panicking features.

"No…" She trailed off, ripping her knapsack off of her back and delving into it. Her seeking fingers met feathery fletches and she sighed in relief. Impa had not forgotten her promise to send more arrows. "Never mind, I was just supplied with some ammo."

She pulled out a bolt and notched it, watching Link as he drew the Master Sword and a shield. Rayne nodded in approval when Chronos and Navi took up places around Haruko, prepared to shield the girl from harm.

"Where is it coming from?" Rayne whispered the question, watching one end of the tunnel while Link surveyed the other.

Haruko appeared to think. "I can't tell." She confessed.

"Move toward the center." Link ordered, putting his back to Rayne's and walking.

It was a clever move; standing in the center would give them the time to react, regardless of which side the Poe decided to appear in. Rayne considered what would happen if the phantom phased straight through the walls instead and her stomach did a flip; she began studying the surrounding ramparts, praying the ghost wasn't that intelligent.

"Above." Haruko's forewarning gave the two enough time to duck as the orange Poe sprang out of the ceiling, its attention fixated on decapitating them. Link rolled into a crouch, Rayne following his suit less stylishly. The warrior leapt up, his sword swipe coinciding with Rayne's bolt thudding into the creature's semi-flesh. Both blows connected, startling the teenagers who had assumed their efforts would be in vain, but the Poe didn't even bat a glowing eye. It lashed out once more, its razor-sharp fingers scraping across Link's face and drawing crimson droplets. The young man fell back, wincing and striking blindly in retribution. Rayne fired again, hitting the ghoul in the center of its engorged body.

The creature turned its aggravation on the second attacker, catching Rayne unaware. She brought her bow up in defense, skittering back on her heels when the Poe hit her with its gathered momentum. Rayne hopped back, her fingers fumbling around her quiver for an arrow while she evaded the Poe's angry assault.

Her foot caught on a rocky outcropping and she tumbled onto the floor with a cry. The Poe charged her, snapping the bow that she put up against it as though it were a twig. Rayne threw the remnants of the bow into the phantom's face, scrambling on her hands and knees to get away. She clamped down on a scream and spun to the side when the Poe's claws rent three fresh bloody stripes across her back. Her arrows flew out of her quiver as she reeled to safety, and she grasped at them in flustered desperation.

She hit a wall, grabbed an arrow, and raised it like a pike. It was pathetic, she was going to die, even if the Poe was stupid enough to spear itself on her weapon, it would still have ample time to slash her to pieces.

A projectile hit the Poe, followed by several others that diverted its awareness. Haruko picked up another loose stone, throwing it at the Poe with vehemence. Navi and Chronos were supplying her with ammunition, heaping them in a small mountain at the child's feet.

"Over here you stupid ghosty!" the young girl called, hurling another rock at the indecisive Poe. "Leave Rayne-chan alone!"

The Poe turned, flying toward Haruko and the two ethereal creatures. "No!" Rayne shouted, plunging the arrow deep into the Poe's retreating back.

But the phantom saw an uncomplicated kill and ignored the shooting pain the young woman had delivered unto it. It proceeded toward Haruko, a wispy, silent killer.

Link stepped in front of the young girl, and fired the hookshot at the phantom. Caught unaware, the hook caught the ghost and held, rending the ghost unable to become intangible. With his other hand, he severed the ghost into two pieces, then quickly adjusted his handle on the hilt and sliced it into quarters.

The Poe made no noise, even as its life burned out it was quiet, observing its own death dispassionately. Again, a lantern appeared, the orange flame caged within giving one last flare before the lack of oxygen suffocated it.

"Is everyone still in one piece?" Navi asked, wings fluttering nervously.

"Debatably." Rayne responded, sickened by the feeling of wetness running down her back. "How the hell did you kill it, Link?"

"Your arrows hit it at such fast speeds, that it doesn't have a chance to becoming insubstantial, right? I noticed that when we both hit it at around the same time, my sword didn't phase through." Link examined Haruko for injuries before walking over to her. "I figured if I hit it with the hookshot and then with my sword fast enough, it wouldn't have a chance to get away."

"So you used the hookshot to keep it in the material realm long enough to use your sword…?" Chronos was looking at Link in a new light. "That's genius…"

"I wasn't sure if it would work." Link shrugged off a rare compliment, sucking air between his teeth when he saw the wounds on Rayne's back. "We need ointment and gauze for this."

"In my knapsack." Rayne instructed, a pained sweat breaking out on her brow when she had half an opportunity to consider her injuries. "Think of what you need and it'll provide."

Link did as Rayne said, picking out a length of cottony wrap and a jar filled with some pasty concoction. "Is this okay?" He asked, pointing to the container doubtfully.

She picked it up, sniffing the contents. "Comfrey, Elder, and Self-Heal, all of the herbs have astringent properties and are commonly used on small wounds."

"So… how do I apply this stuff exactly?" Link asked, awkwardly touching the tissue around the abrasions.

"You'll have to put it directly on the gashes." Rayne stood, disregarding the hurt it caused her. "Let's get out of the well first; I'd rather lie down on grass."

"I have to put it _directly on _the gashes?" Link yelped, "But, your tunic…"

"Will have to be removed." Chronos finished for him wickedly.

Both teenagers blushed hotly in realization, glancing at one another through the edges of their respective vision to see how the other was affected. Rayne cursed her unthinking words, wishing to pull them back into her mouth and stiffly walk away.

"Oh this will be glorious fun." Chronos whispered conspiratorially to Haruko and Navi as they awaited the comical scene to play itself out.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Author's Notes: Holy crap, I finally finished it. I apologize for how overdue this chapter is; but because of some personal issues and a sudden death in the family, my writing abilities have just begun to curl out of a fetal position. I must also ask for forgiveness concerning the poor quality of this chapter. It will get better folks, I just need to get back into the writing groove.

Sincere thanks to all who reviewed:

GuruGuru214

Poetrim

Emerald6

Casavenna

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Girl With Many Names

The Pilot

Linkolas

I'm not going to respond individually to everyone at the moment, not because I don't appreciate the constructive criticism and the compliments, but simply since I would like to post this chapter as quickly as possible to be read.

Also, I will be putting fun little blurbs of information concerning the other members of Arcana who won't get much air-time. I wrote descriptions a while back and figured I'd share. Enjoy.

Alias: The Fool

Real Name: Omi

Origin of Name: Old Norse

Meaning of Name: boomer/resounder

Pronounced: OH-mee

Race: Hylian

Runic alignment: Hagal

Eye color: Brown

Hair color: Pale blonde

Age: 16

Description: A tricky youth who often acts before he thinks. He has had a crush on Rayne from when he first laid eyes on her, unfortunately she doesn't seem to notice his affections. Faced with this problem, he reacts adversely to her mere presence. He is a messy magician and a terrible swordsman but Hierophant is sure he will someday tap into a strength that will outclass even Bri.

"_Genius might be described as a supreme capacity for getting its possessors into trouble of all kinds_."- **Samuel Butler **

Alias: The Magician

Real Name: Bri

Origin of Name: Modern Irish

Meaning of Name: strength/energy/force

Pronounced: BREE

Race: Hylian

Runic Alignment: Mann

Eye color: Green

Hair color: Brown

Age: 34

Description: A middle aged woman who is a very adept magical worker, which may be why she seems slightly eccentric at times. She loves to pick on Omi, who often sets himself up for such verbal abuse. Her ability is to change the inanimate into living breathing creatures, or vice versa.

"_So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling, and puttering." – _**Brenda Ueland**


	22. Phantom of the Desert Lord

He leaned forward, peering into the scrying pool with a sinister intensity. His fingers were clenched painfully around the sharp edges of the bowel, drawing little rivulets of blood that ran down its silvery sides before trickling onto the floor and clouding the images in the watery window.

His hellfire eyes widened and he upended the bowel with a growl. The third Poe had failed in its task to eliminate the intruders within the Forest Temple; the chances of the final Poe's success were slim.

He had thought the problem taking place insignificant, a welcome distraction from trying to spy on the hive of insects that had dubbed themselves Arcana and stung when he was unaware of their presence. But this new source of entertainment had quickly lost its value when he had felt the surge of power that had efficiently dismembered one of his minions. There had been something familiar about the magical signature, mixed in a mass of foreign energy. The magic was very unlike anything he had ever encountered; touched by divine light that made his stomach churn uncomfortably. If that celestial power was what he thought, he was in more trouble than he could have anticipated. He needed to rid his kingdom of whatever being was unleashing the power before the wrath of the heavens descended upon him.

Ganondorf fell back into his black throne, flexing brutalized fingers and willing the flesh to mend with the powers he had stolen from those under his control. He stared at the pooling water on the dark tiles, his features set in a smoldering expression. Someone was challenging his hold on Hyrule indirectly, for no one could lay claim to his land in any other fashion without facing an ugly consequence. His Poes had failed miserably, which left him with the final option of unleashing the greatest weapon he had placed in the Forest Temple.

Still, he was reluctant to summon the creature, if only because it meant that he acknowledged the presently faceless enemy as a threat. There was also so little he could afford to reveal about his forces now that there was the possibility of entities with such significant potency being involved.

No matter the reasoning it boiled down to one point: he could not allow this unwelcome visitor to live in the shadows of that which he had conquered. He would dispatch the last phantom to dispose of his opponent and hope that the information of its awakening never leaked beyond the mossy Temple walls.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

Rayne knew she was scowling; knew it but couldn't very well stop it. Perhaps there was some other way to put the ointment on her injured back, or at least some other person.

"Are you finished?" Link asked politely, his back turned to her.

She examined the cloth she had used to bind her breasts, breathing a faint sigh of relief when she realized that it was still intact. Rayne hesitated, and then tentatively angled her arm so that she could push at the boundaries of the wounds on her back. The scratches were long and painful, but not as dire as she had expected. Her fingers came away sticky with blood that was slowly congealing into what she was sure would later be scar tissue.

"Rayne?" Link's questioning tone made her flush. If only Haruko were less squeamish, she would have had the young girl patch her up rather than the dashing warrior. Unfortunately, said girl was currently hiding her face in her teddy bear, quietly humming some odd little ditty that filled the air around them, apparently to distract herself.

"Just a second." Rayne said as she lay down on the grassy ground. Her naked stomach was tickled by the green blades and other unidentifiable things that she hoped weren't of the insect variety.

Link waited until Rayne signaled that she was somewhat decent with an embarrassed clearing of her throat before turning around. When he saw that she was ready he gathered the linen strips and the poultice jar and sat down beside her. "I washed my hands and the coverings for the wounds." Link informed her, displaying his clean fingers for her inspection. "Do I just get the mixture on my fingertips and then put it on?"

Rayne nodded, chin bumping against the ground. "Is it bleeding badly?"

Link leaned over her, blocking the sunlight for a moment and making her shiver impulsively. "No, it hasn't stopped though."

"Good, that means you won't have to peel off the scabbing to apply it." Rayne said, closing her eyes when she felt Link shudder at the thought. "Put a thin layering of the ointment over the wounds, just don't put too much or it'll suffocate the healing process."

"No pressure." Link murmured, sticking his fingers into the creamy solution and measuring with his eyes. "Put too little and it's ineffective; put too much and it'll be just as harmful."

"Don't worry." Rayne assured him, shifting to relieve an itch on her leg. "I'll probably be able to tell if you put an improper amount."

Rayne opened her eyes to see Chronos staring at her from a distant seat on a sunny rock, amusement clearly rendered in his posture. "You know, kitten." He said when he noticed her attention. "You could just go back to Kakariko and have one of the healers attend to you."

The young woman frowned at him pointedly, "It isn't life threatening."

"Unless it goes septic." The disagreeable feline reminded her, green eyes decidedly aloof.

"Which is why Link is putting poultice over it." Rayne returned, crossing her arms in front of her and laying her chin in the centre of the intersection. She could hear Link shuffling at her side, seemingly trying to determine the best way to apply the sticky solution.

"That's not as effective as magic." Chronos turned onto his back, stretching languidly. "There's still a chance of infection."

"Not a significant one." Rayne winced as Link's cautious fingers met her back.

"It wouldn't have to be." The cat mewed, one eye opened while the ear on the opposite side twitched.

Ah, Chronos, her little ray of divine sunshine and caustic concern. She shook her head negatively, yielding for the moment to keep from squeaking at the coldness of the paste. Link was being gentle, as much as one who wielded a blade on a daily basis could be, but the fact that she was incapable of easing her muscles from their rigid positions was making the situation increasingly galling. She was coiled more tightly than the leather grip around the hilt of Link's sword, edgy to any sudden movement that might imply another ghostly attack or something of the similarly fatal persuasion.

Rayne hated to admit it, but she was also frightened of Link. She had never let anyone so close to her before, at least not while she was in a state of undress. She trusted him; there was no doubt in her mind that she had placed her life in his indecisively cupped hands. Nonetheless, her thoughts were still plagued by uncomfortable reservations, warnings that she had leapt too soon with an excessively amount of force behind the jump.

"Rayne-chan?" Haruko's heart-shaped face suddenly filled her vision. "Does it hurt?"

Rayne smiled wanly at the child. "Not really Haruko, Link's being very careful."

"Oh." The little girl hesitated, a juvenile expression of serious thought coming over her face. Several seconds passed before she nodded, obviously coming to a resolution. She took the battered teddy bear from underneath her arm and offered it to a startled Rayne. "You can hold Rumpelstiltskin if you want, he'll make you feel better."

Rayne accepted the bear gingerly, tears threatening to pool in her eyes. "Thank you, Haruko. That's very thoughtful of you."

"I know." The little girl said matter-of-factly. She glanced at Rayne's back, pulling a face and adding. "Could you try your best not to bleed on him though?"

Rayne laughed, sending a surge of pain down her back. Children had a terrible habit of ruining moments. "I'll try my best."

"Okay." Haruko smiled, turning on her heel and going back to her previous spot where Rayne's blood splashed back was less visible. She called to the black cat in hopes of playing, but Chronos studiously ignored her and continued to sunbathe.

"Kids." Link chuckled huskily, dipping his fingers into the jar for more paste.

Rayne nodded, knowing full-well that the one word and the tone it was uttered in encompassed his feelings on the subject. She propped the bear Haruko had handed her under one arm and tried to feel the soothing effects of the medicine rather than the burning sensation of her striped back. Unintentionally, her thoughts turned back to the moment she had experienced just after she had nearly bashed Link's head in with Hanged Man's invention. The cloying thought of his lips so close to her own made her blush, a pink tinge that she fiercely hoped was not spreading down her naked back where the hero turned healer would spot and ask after it.

"Rayne." Link's quiet baritone gave her a start. She cursed mentally, fully prepared to give some sloppy lie about the state of her flushed back, and was surprised when he continued along a tangent she hadn't predicted. "Perhaps Chronos is right. Maybe you should go back to Kakariko and get properly healed."

"Not this again." She growled, feeling entirely helpless. He had to bring this up when she was belly down and couldn't even look into his eyes to argue her case? That was incredibly unfair of him. "This is like beating a dead horse. I'm already here and I have no intention of leaving."

Link fell silent, spreading the pasty medicine over the inflamed wounds with a pronounced dread of hurting the young woman who was fuming at his assumption that she was a frail flower who would wilt under the slightest duress.

Rayne forced herself to calm down, squeezing Haruko's bear within an inch of its life as she considered Link's point of view. Evidently, he wasn't attempting to shunt her off to the village because he didn't need her help. She had pulled his rear out of the line of fire more times than she cared to count and he had often returned the favor. She thought back to what he had said in Kakariko; a grim refusal of her company followed by a reasoning that made her chest ache. He didn't want her blood on his hands while he was still washing away the stains that Malon's demise had left behind.

Link's ministrations ceased and Rayne recognized that he had coated all of the scratches with the medicine. She rose, careful not to use muscles in her back for fear of more pain, and sat on the ground. Link passed the linen bandages over her front, keeping his distance from her skin and began winding its length over the long abrasions, binding a significant portion of her torso in the pale cloth.

"Link…" Rayne kept her voice away from a confrontational tone.

"Hmm…?" He tucked the end of the bindings in, checking to make sure it wasn't too tight. When the young woman hesitated he encouraged her to speak. "What is it Rayne?"

"I'm not your responsibility." She looked at him over her shoulder; recognizing surprise on his features, she rushed to amend her statement. "You don't have to worry about me. I came of my own volition, you didn't ask me to. The only thing you should be concerned about is freeing the Temples from Ganondorf's reign."

"You know it doesn't work like that, Rayne." He sighed, turning his back to her and indicating to the new shirt she had taken out of her knapsack.

"Why not?" she asked, grabbing the shirt and attempting to pull it over her head while she spoke. "It isn't as though I gave you the choice of accepting my company or not, that would have been a different matter. You pretty much had the ultimatum of going with me or not going at all. Damned shirt…"

Raising her arms hurt like the original hiding had and the tunic refused to go over her head unless she expended the required effort. She cursed again, trying to out-maneuver the article of clothing so that it would slide over her arms and head.

"Need help?" Link questioned, turning to survey her problem before giving a short laugh.

"Excuse you!" she hissed, the effect not quite as intimidating as she would have hoped through the fabric. "I'm not quite dressed yet, you… you…"

Her brain failed her as she felt Link move closer to her, grip the material of her tunic and pull it down over her arms and head. Sometimes she had to wonder if he did such things to purposely tease her. He was close but untouchable to her, like wind and earth, fire and water, she was unable to exist without him and yet utterly incapable of contact without destruction. She blinked out of her trance and devastated her train of thought. Where had that particular thought crawled out from?

"Are the bandages too tight?" Link asked, carefully adjusting the hem of her shirt and ignoring the stares of their other three companions.

"No, they're fine." Rayne hastily said. The last thing she wanted him to do was take off her shirt and reapply the bindings. There was one of those visions stirring at the back of her mind; she pushed it away through sheer force of will. She refused to have another spasmodic attack so soon after the last.

Rayne's temperature dropped abruptly, making her body shudder in a meager attempt to regain lost heat. Her heartbeat was pounding an irregular tattoo in her temples and wrists, throbbing in such a way that she was suddenly very aware of every vein, every muscle, every ivory bone inside herself. Gravity pressed against her skin, suffocating while the sickly scent of carrion and burned bones invaded her lungs.

It lasted only a moment, the intensely grotesque feeling of being ripped apart by unseen forces. Then the veil lifted and she could breathe again.

"What the hell was that?" Navi asked eloquently, hauling herself up from where she had fallen in a crumpled heap on the ground. "I feel like something tried to rip my wings off and beat me with them."

No one mentioned how tough it would be to give a proper beating with the flimsy material of a fairy's wings; everyone was winded and frightened, or at least that was what prevented Rayne from pointing it out.

"It felt like… an evoking, something old being awakened." Chronos said, pink tongue displayed while he panted in a manner most cats would think undignified. "It ripped the boundaries around this place, called up something from a different portion of myself."

Rayne glanced at the cat, noticing how ill he looked. Whatever had conspired was hurting him still, like a physical blow to his lithe black body. He said that something had been called from a separate time, a certain something that was ancient and more than likely dangerous.

Haruko picked up the coal-colored feline, stroking his back tenderly. "There, there little Chronos, it's over now."

Rayne rose, watching the child curiously. She had just sounded older than her years, acting the part of a concerned mother for the startled cat. She shook off the feelings, knowing that this would not be the final surprise the little girl had hiding up her worn sleeves, and focused on the matter at hand. This was not the end; the creature that had been summoned from some old haunt in the past had plainly been called up for the purpose of destroying them. When it would attempt to fulfill this function and in what manner it would do so, was the question gnawing worriedly at her gut.

"There's a ghosty coming." Haruko commented, eyes meeting Rayne's in warning.

Link unsheathed the Master Sword without question, sparing a concerned glance at Rayne when she moved stiffly to draw back her bow. "Perhaps you should sit this one out, Rayne."

"Perhaps you should mind your own Goddess damned business, Link." Rayne snarled, reactions slowed by buzzing pain signals. "I'm not an invalid and I refuse to be treated as such."

Link frowned, "I never said—"

The Poe blew through the ground beneath them, a furious storm of claws and vicious hissing. Link dodged easily, swinging his blade into one hand so that he could grip the hookshot out of its holster at his side, then bellowed in pain. The Poe in front of him faded after giving a horrible laugh while the corporeal one behind him took another swipe at his unguarded back.

Rayne charged with a strangled battle cry on her lips, bulling the Poe back with precisely fired arrows and swiping at it with the bow itself when she came near enough. The Poe backed away, snarling darkly and trying to return the blows of this new threat. Link used the needed diversion to fire the hookshot into the billowing mass of phantasm only to find his aim slightly off when the Poe evaded and flew to the right to pick out the arrows that had lodged securely into its person. It succeeded in removing two of the three bolts before returning to an offensive front. Again it created a doppelganger, followed by another two that cackled unpleasantly before beginning to circle around the small party like a merry-go-round with jagged teeth and knife-like nails.

Rayne tried to identify the real one, eyes seeking the single arrow-bolt that would give up its identity. She gave a startled gasp when she recognized that every one of them bore a shaft with green-fetching; this Poe was more skilled than the other three had been.

"Anyone have a decent idea on how to get out of this mess?" Chronos asked, baring sharp incisors at the nearest Poe from the cradle of Haruko's arms.

"Find the real one and beat the life out of it." Navi suggested, swooping in and out to divert the Poes' attention. "Of course you'll have to determine which one is the genuine entity first."

"That was very useful, fairy. Remind me to thank you for it later by chewing off your arms." Chronos swatted half-heartedly at a Poe that had come to close, knowing his meager claws could do no significant damage.

"I say we give it the 'ole human go and kill everything in sight." Rayne recommended, pulling out two bolts; one she notched and the other she set in her teeth for easy access.

"Decisively lethal as always, kitten." Chronos drew himself up from the comfortable position in Haruko's arms to stare threateningly at the nearest Poe. "Unfortunately, it's about as useful as the fairy's idea and three-fold times more foolhardy."

"Process of elimination does seem about the only way to go, Chronos." Link was taking careful aim with his hookshot. "Although it doesn't seem like instantaneous eradication would be such a terrible plan of action either."

"My, aren't we full of big words and conviction today." The cat mewed, sinking dourly back into a less agonizing position against Haruko. "Do what you please, just don't expect me to be of much use in this ridiculous arrangement."

"We didn't anticipate a change in your normal behavior, cat." Navi poked the Poe she had been harassing in its wide yellow eye, amazed when it caused instant disintegration. "This one would be a fake."

Rayne released the arrow she had been holding, disappointed when the phantom she'd been inspecting followed the first Poe in its dissipation tactics. She spat the additional bolt out of her mouth and made ready to fire again. "Your turn, Link."

The blonde warrior didn't waste time with a response; instead he triggered the hookshot and hit the Poe that had been moving at a slightly different pace from its brethren of fakes. The Poe squealed in pain, writhing as the jagged point ripped into its withered flesh, jerking angrily at the chain that secured it to a realm in which it no longer wished to dwell.

As Link brought up his weapon to deliver the finishing strike, the Poe shot upward, taking up the slack of the hookshot's chain and making the warrior lose his footing. Link pulled down harshly with both hands, palming the hilt of his sword rather than dropping it. The Poe stopped its airborne charge but did not entirely cease rising, straining for every inch gained it started to raise the startled young warrior off his planted feet.

Rayne delayed in shooting the other arrow, wondering if it would aid Link in his effort to bring the Poe down or would simply enrage it even further. Coming to a decision, she threw her worn bow over a shoulder and ran to grab Link around the middle to anchor him to the ground. She felt him tense at her touch, but when he acknowledged what she was attempting to do, he allowed her to drag him out of the air.

Rayne later apprehended that it would have been healthier to latch on to Link from behind; the Poe, howling with wrathful intentions, rushed down at her unprotected back to share its state of hurt. She closed her eyes, inwardly groaning at her own foolishness, when she felt Link release the chain with one hand to grasp his shield and bring it to her defense. The ghost's very substantial talons banged uselessly against the metal insignia of Hyrule, letting Rayne move out of her compromising position and enabling her sentinel to drop the guard and restore the sword into its due place in his left hand. Link quickly slashed the ghost with his blade, listening to its shriek of pain with a forbidding expression on his face. The hookshot disengaged itself from vanishing tissue, snapping back together with an audible clang that only emphasized the horrific noise of the specter's second death.

"That was easy." Rayne addressed the group as the glow of the lantern flickered and then went out.

"It's all in the technique." Navi crowed, patting Link's cheek fondly. "You're such a crafty little boy." Then she turned on Rayne. "You put yourself in an awfully precarious place though, young lady."

The green sorceress reddened. "I wasn't thinking properly, I had the unreasonable notion that it would be too distracted by the metal puncturing its abdomen."

"Yes, unreasonable that." Chronos' tail swatted the air, uneasy at being so restful in such a stressful situation.

Link grinned, turning to the Time-cat with arms akimbo in conquest. "Well, it seems our plan wasn't as irrational as you made it out to be."

"Do you want applause, the insistence of an encore?" The cat asked with no small amount of annoyance. "You could have been mutilated, and hitherto blind luck has dictated the reason you are still breathing. Do not revel in a victory that could have just as easily gone to the opposing party; it will become no easier from here."

The air chilled noticeably, showing the breath of those assembled in cloudy formations of fleeting fog. Rayne coughed, lungs burning from the abrupt change in temperature as she watched a thin layer of frost form over the surrounding vegetation. Shuffling of her feet resulting in grass breaking like brittle emerald icicles; her eyes were dry and tearless and a glance around confirmed that she wasn't the only one experiencing such discomfort.

"Please tell me you did that, cat." Rayne beseeched Chronos, putting her arms around herself to ward off the chill. Haruko leaned into Rayne's legs and shivered, tugging the excess material of the tunic over her shoulders and burying her face into the older girl's stomach.

"No, I'm afraid not." His dark fur had lost its glossy sheen and exhaustion had worn through his complacent demeanor. "It's what Ganondorf called up earlier, a spirit of the Old World that's he has molded into a shape befitting of one in the service of such a malevolent king."

"That doesn't sound good…" Navi ventured, darting about Link's head with nervous adrenaline.

"Oh, trust me; it will be much worse than it sounds." Chronos turned his piercing gaze on Rayne. "Pull out that magic bag of yours; we're going to need every edge, any advantage we can conceive."

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Within the blanket of darkness it stirred, slowly awakening after having slept for so long. Its senses were woefully disoriented, its ears plugged with grave dirt, vision blurred and nose catching nothing but the half-imagined scent of dust. Phantom pulsations of a faux heartbeat began to make themselves known, almost reluctant as it pushed mystical infusions of ersatz blood. Confusion finally registered somewhere in its brain as limbic system realigned itself enough to send messages to the frontal cortex. It had been sleeping, or at least doing something very similar to that action when a voice has whispered in its ear and a violent pull had wrenched it from its cool, grainy home to this foreign site.

Its eyes gained a stinging sensation, forcing the immediate reaction to blink furiously. It knew somewhere in its muddled mind that it was incapable of waking without outside influence of the most hefty persuasion. It had been of such authority once, long ago, it could remember power, the intoxicating taste of it. The thought was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving only a sense of grief in its place.

There was a faint ringing in its head that was growing in volume. Something shifted and it could suddenly interpret what its ears were straining to comprehend. The pealing of indecisive alarm bells was replaced by an unpleasant buzz that made its body spasm. It was a male voice, chanting incessantly in a tone of heavy deliberation that furthered its descent back into the living world. The bitter taste of new blood entered its mouth, coppery and viscous as it flowed down its parched throat and ignited every available nerve ending with an electrical shock of positive ions.

It stopped struggling and the pain receded. The jargon of the speaker was reverberating through its body, gaining some meaning until it could no longer ignore the summons. Black and gray cobwebs blew out of its eyes and images were finally able to filter through; above was a cavernous roof, stretching up into an infinite space of flickering candlelight. The creature could feel a solid coldness at its back, sucking out all warmth its body was attempting to generate, and it came to the conclusion that it was lying flat on a slab of some generic rock. It sat up uncertainly, watching in fascination as taut muscles moved beneath a paper thin layer of olive skin. It brought a hand before its eyes, examining the individual fingers. It clenched and relaxed each of the ten digits one by one, marveling at the complexity of the movement, until it heard a throaty chuckle.

"I'd hate to see how long it would take for you to discover the rest of your body; we'd be here for hours." The figure sneered, stepping closer to assert some form of authority over that which he had pulled from a distant time. "Perhaps I should have selected an entity with considerably more intellect… you are truly as pathetic as the legends say."

The newly created fiend leapt from the stone slab and hissed when its legs refused to hold the weight. It swiped viciously at the dark man when he came near; spit flying from a narrow mouth as it scuttled along the floor in an effort to recover some form of strength.

"Enough of this," The hawk-nosed man leaned down and grabbed its throat, inciting a gurgle-growl of hate and fear. "You will accept your role of servitude at my hands and obey all orders that I direct at you without hesitation. Is that clear?"

The creature attempted a snarl but found the lack of air in its breathing apparatuses unhelpful. It tried to break the hold, and found the action useless. The dark man leaned closer, his hot breath falling across its chapped mouth. "Your link to this world is me; I determine your strength, your weaknesses, your form. My blood runs through your veins, your flesh is mine; if you defy me, you defy your own body. Do not tempt me, little spirit. I have limited patience and little humor."

The creature's body slackened in defeat, and sank to the floor when the dark man released it. "Good, now come with me, my shadow, come and I will award you an assignment."

The creature followed docilely at the man's heels, to all appearances a beast tamed by a master's harsh treatment. But something rebellious was stirring in its half-working brain; it was silently testing the boundaries of itself, finding where it began and its evoker ended and at what place the bindings could be fractured.

………………………………………………………………………………….

Link chewed on the strips of beef Rayne proffered to him, staring off into the distance with his sword unsheathed and ready for use with its tip in the dirt and the hilt resting on one of his legs. A small healing spell had sealed the minor wounds from his Poe encounter, but the flesh still ached and itched. He took a pull from the water bottle Haruko passed to him, nose wrinkling when he recognize some sweet berry juice that tingled against his tongue.

"It's strawberry." The little girl confided in him, mistaking his expression of dislike for confusion. "Doesn't it taste good?"

Link grinned at the young girl and ruffled her hair cordially. "Where did you get strawberry juice?" he asked.

"Rayne-chan gave it to me." Haruko pointed to said female who was actively searching for practical items to use in the upcoming battle under Chronos' watchful eye. "She said you'd like it."

Link rolled his eyes, knowing that Rayne was aware of his dislike for sugary liquids. "I see. Why don't you tell her thanks for me?"

The younger girl quickly ran to do the requested action, once again leaving Link to ponder what the enemy's next attempt would be. Ganondorf had run out of Poes; Link could remember there being only four in the antechamber and all of them had fallen to his blade and Rayne's magic. But the self-proclaimed King of Hyrule had wasted no time in inducting a fifth creature into the ranks of the Forest Temple's monsters.

Would this new creature be similar to the ghosts? He didn't know, and even if it was, there was a very small chance that it could be as simply defeated. Link sighed, finishing off the jerky and listening to Rayne's outraged demands of how pieces of twine would help anyone.

"I think we should go on." He told them, surprising the two arguing into silence. "It's pointless to wait for it here. We should at least try to find the Forest Sage before whatever this thing is attacks; maybe the sage could help us."

Rayne stopped pulling objects out of her bag. "Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea. What do you think Chronos; since you seem to know every-Goddess-created-thing?"

"I don't believe that the Sage could help us." The cat replied, unfazed by Rayne's sarcasm. "She's not particularly… battle ready."

"You know the Sage of Forest?" Navi questioned, rubbing her hands together to provide warmth.

"In a fashion, yes." The cat replied evasively. "However, it might be a good idea to track down the creature before it approaches us; if we can catch it before it's completely prepared, perhaps we'll have a chance of destroying it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, cat." Rayne threw the last of the surplus items into her pack and slung it over her shoulder. "Let's go, I don't think I could take much more of this cold anyway."

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Rayne cursed when they entered the foyer and found that the cold was not specific to the outside. Her breath still appeared as gaseous white clouds and her feet were continuing to freeze in their thin deerskin shoes. She made a mental note to ask Hierophant to put her quilted overcoats into the void next she saw him; Ganondorf seemed to love toying with the temperature.

"What's that?" Navi asked, pointing to a simplistic metal enclosure in the center of the square where the four Poes had first appeared. The braziers were lit once more, their flames casting malignant shadows that yawned along the full length of the room. "Do you think it leads to wherever the Sage is?"

"It looks like a trap." Rayne asserted, scanning the area for any fatally hidden objects. "Why else would it suddenly appear? Ganondorf still has control of the Temple; the sage probably has little to no real power at this point."

"She may be expending what little power she does possess in order to open up this opportunity." Link reminded his female ally, also searching for a ruse in the large room. "This may be the only way to get to her."

"It's risky." Chronos jumped into the argument. "Still, Link may be right; this could be our only chance."

"I don't like it." Rayne disputed, foot tapping with evident irresolution.

"I'll look at it." Haruko volunteered cheerily; shocking the two adults out of their argument long enough to realize that she had previously slipped out from underfoot and was merrily hopping toward the center of the room without a cautious thought to hinder the way. Rayne shouted out a wordlessly negative response, tripping over her own feet and making a grab for the little hare-brained child.

Haruko stood in the precise middle of the raised platform, head tilted to the side in incomprehension at the two older people's reactions to her statement, when the ground beneath her shuddered into a disinclined, muttering life. Ancient etchings on the floor of long since forgotten languages shimmered and brightened; their light spreading to the contraption in which Haruko was nervously stopped.

Rayne hauled the little girl up into her arms, desperately aware of Link right beside her and Chronos at her feet. Her scalp was prickling from fear, for they were all in the strange device now. Through her legs she felt the ground begin to cave and she quickly pushed Haruko into Link's arms and off of the platform. She felt rather than saw Chronos trying to urge her to safer ground as well, but the floor fell and she was left with only a fleeting glance of Link's terrified face mirroring her own before everything descended into darkness.

Her eyes were closed as the air rushed past her ears; she could still feel Chronos' presence by her right foot and wondered, curiously through her panic, if they were falling at the same pace. Then her nerves registered that there was still, in fact, solidity under her feet and only then did she dare peek. They were falling, and yet the platform was guiding them in the exercise, glowing runes swimming lazily as they began to enshroud the open sides of the gondola-like structure, making an air-resistant seal so that the wind wasn't banging on her head like a particularly vengeful drummer.

"What is this?" she asked the cat, who was silently regarding the runes with intrigue.

"It's an elevator, magically powered of course, but an elevator all the same." At Rayne's blank look he continued. "It's an enclosure that can be raised or lowered by a pulley system."

Rayne considered this mentally, drawing up a basic schematic in her mind of how one would go about the process of making such a device. "I think I understand… Hanged Man would love this."

"I'm certain he would." Chronos jumped off the platform just as it touched down, paws meeting a dusty landing that instantly dirtied his fur. "Ganondorf needs to consider hiring cleaners, this is unacceptable."

"I'm sure he's worried about the dust problem in the Temples." Rayne rolled her eyes, stopping in the gesture when she saw the shadowy figure peering down at them from the distant upper level. "Link?" she called.

"Rayne, are you okay?" Rayne sighed in relief as Link's voice chased away the silence in the room. "What happened?"

"I'm- we're- both fine." She added at Chronos' sharp glance. "The enclosure was actually just an elevator; you can ride down on it."

"As soon as we find out how to make it go back up." Chronos left little paw prints in the dust as he explored. He stopped at a doorway, covered by icy vines and rotten wood, his hackles rising. "And we had better find a way soon, the creature that Ganondorf summoned is very close by."

Rayne nodded at the severity of his statement, walking off the elevator only to squeak in surprise when it began to levitate back upward, nearly catching her foot in the ascent. "I guess we didn't have to work too hard to figure that out." She mumbled, frowning at Chronos' not-so-inaudible chuckling.

Link and Haruko, accompanied by a flying Navi, came down on the elevator. Haruko quickly sprang at Rayne, nearly bowling the young woman over in her eagerness to apologize for being such a nuisance.

"Oh hush, Haruko." Rayne smiled down at the female child. "If you hadn't done something, we'd probably still be arguing over a plan upstairs."

Haruko blushed prettily. "I know, but you looked so scared…"

"You did scare me." Rayne admitted, flicking the girl's nose. "And I don't expect you'll ever do it again. Right?"

The little girl nodded quickly and Rayne's smile widened. She turned to Link who was examining the door curiously. "Do you know how we're supposed to get through?"

"Nope." Link tugged experimentally on a vine, withdrawing his hand when it responded by wrapping around his wrist and tugging back with considerably more force. "I'm reluctant to take a sword to it."

There was a low rumble and Link jumped back, blade drawn against his better judgment. The icy vines shattered and snapped, slivers of ice and plant matter scattering across the floor in a pattern less jumble. The rotten lumber that had once been a door caved in on itself, and a muted roar bit through the cold air, causing the blood of those nearby to gain a slushy consistency.

Rayne choked back a whimper when the figure materialized out of the dust and debris in the air; she shrank back toward the elevator, every nerve drawing on the fight-or-flight instinct of some long since dead ancestor. Destruction whispered at the soles of his feet and chaos threatened in the dark fire of his eyes; the room billowed with unnatural grey fog and tiny blinking yellow eyes that winked out of existence when looked at directly.

Ganondorf stepped out of the portal, a long, dramatic cloak flaring off his shoulders and encompassing an entire side of the circular room; his outline blazed like a fiery sun on her retina even through the dusky fog.

She wanted to scream; visions of Malon's past were infiltrating her weakened mind and her fear was being amplified by the young dead girl's own terror. The background kept melting and fading out, only Ganondorf remained a constant. Her heart was in her mouth and yet simultaneously in her stomach and her legs were jelly, folding underneath her weight.

Then Link's hand was on her arm, pulling her from danger as Ganondorf's spear sought her out. The Master Sword clanged against the pointed steel, sparks showering from the encounter.

Rayne blinked the visions away, but her dread still held her in its paralyzing grip. She could not fight the man of her oldest nightmares and worst waking thoughts; he was every monster that populated the shadowy corners of her mind, every flesh-devouring beast in Hierophant's fey tales.

"That's not Ganondorf." Chronos' voice in her ear made her jump. "That's not Ganondorf, kitten. Look closely."

Rayne would have tried to shoot the cat an incredulous glance, except his position denied her the opportunity. Instead she did as he bid and looked at Ganondorf as Link desperately tried to stay in close and block so that his enemy could not make full use of his long range weapon. His appearance was everything she had heard it would be, tall and dark-skinned with fiery hair and an angular face, the single orange jewel decorating his brow. She was about to confess that she had never actually seen Ganondorf up close, except for through Malon's eyes which were unreliable at best, and therefore incapable of distinguishing the real from a fake, when something odd caught her eye. There was a surreal flickering around his person and if she squinted she could see something not-quite-human battling Link through her eyelashes.

"What is that?" She questioned the cat, her sanity slowly returning from where it had fled in such panic. "It isn't even human, is it?"

"It was once, but no longer. It was also once a God, and it lost that as well."

Link landed a stunning blow and the fake Ganondorf stumbled back. The blonde hero tried to follow up with another swipe and was forced to evade when an eerily glowing ball of black magic with green lights was thrown into his path.

"You're going to have to explain all of this to me later." Rayne informed him, standing from where she had fallen and grabbing her bow. "Now, how do we defeat this thing?"

"That's my girl." Chronos purred, nuzzling her cheek before dropping off of her shoulder. "How is your magical core?"

Rayne visualized her core, sensing which spells were still open to her. "Fire and wind spells are iffy; materialization is still entirely out of the question unless I want to burn myself out."

"What about light?" Chronos asked enigmatically.

Rayne frowned, not quite certain how to go about such spells. "It's not quite elemental. I'm not certain I could do it."

"Combine your remaining fire and wind magic and infuse it into your arrows." Chronos gave her a half-lidded peek that instantly made her feel incompetent. "Be careful about it though, you don't want too much of either element or you could get a hybrid that is entirely useless."

"Encouragement would be preferred to your usual helping of sarcasm, cat." Rayne fumbled pulling out a few choice arrows. "Actually, anything would be preferred just now."

"Cease your whining and do as you're told."

She almost reminded the feline that she had several weapons in her hands and, as such, he should consider being more pleasant toward her, then Link yelled some unintelligible words of hurt and she forgot all about the infuriating Chronos.

Rayne reached out to her magic hopefully, grasping the separate strands tightly and beginning to weave. She measured them out, careful not to take too much of fire or wind magic as Chronos had explicitly warned her against, waiting to see if they would accept the differing elements before twining more together. The magical threads thrashed against one another, unwilling to meld at first until she exerted more of her will upon them; she was starting to think this task impossible, or at least that her method was erroneous. Then golden power flared up as the two powers met in a harmonic crash and Rayne knew that she had succeeded.

She used the new element to infuse it into her arrows, putting light not only into the arrow head itself, but also leavening it into the very grains of wood in the shaft and the individual feathers of the fletching. Her arrows were glowing; their tips alight with aureate sunshine and moon luminescence, starry radiance and lightning bolts, they were warm to the touch and fizzling to the mind. She notched a light impregnated arrow and fired straight into the Ganondorf double, the bolt parting with a gleaming trail of lightning particles in its wake.

The light arrow hit the copy high in the side, lodging neatly between what she assumed to be its ribs. It screamed, a horrible, mind-bending noise of animalistic rage and agony and the light arrows in her hands and quiver trembled as their maker's resolve did. It wasn't Ganondorf, she reminded herself, notching another arrow, it was just a very convincing look-alike.

Then his eyes met hers in fury and she felt the world spin. Rayne fired, but her aim off and the arrow going wide to the left where it hit the wall and sputtered out. She reached for another arrow but her fingers refused to grasp and she couldn't pull her face away from his. She could see the desert in his eyes, the sands of time as they shifted and blew and no longer made a difference to him. She could see impure fires burning and blood being absorbed by a sandy landscape while vultures flew overhead. And yet there was something untainted gleaming beneath the filth, a piece of soul left unburied by eons of hate and vengeance.

Link hit the creature's face with the flat of his blade and Rayne's body flew into sudden overdrive. She plucked an arrow out of her quiver and fired unhesitatingly into the copy's chest. The creature howled as the arrow ignited its body, reaching for her and finding Link's sword lodged deep in its intestine for the endeavor. It gripped Link's arms just above his gauntlets and the hero paled, knees hitting the ground. Rayne shot again, knowing that this phantom had the same abilities as its predecessors, and the arrow plunked directly into the first.

Holes were beginning to form in the creature's flesh, gaping black circles where her arrows struck. Link rose as the copy released him to tear out the arrows, grasping his sword and pulling it free. He struck again, next to Rayne's protruding bolts and the creation cracked in half, startling them both.

The increasing pools of black blood lashed out at them with dripping tendrils, burning all it touched like a volatile acid as the monster tried to pull itself back together, knitting its flesh with its own fingers, searing the wounds with dark fire and making himself whole once again.

"I have this funny feeling we aren't winning." Link remarked, puffing as he leaned against her for a moment before they were forced to jump apart to avoid another bloody attack.

"Me too." Rayne fired into the sentient blood puddles with an arrow, cursing when it parted right where the bolt landed. "It's more like a sinking feeling though."

"It's weakening." Chronos assured them, batting back a wet tendril of blood from Haruko and paying for it with singed fur. "You two need to hit it at the same time, it's bigger than the Poes but it follows the same basic guideline. It cannot stand against the powers of light and time if they work in unison."

"Link can't even get close enough without getting touched or burned." Rayne let loose another arrow, hoping that she had enough left to live through his ordeal. "There's no way we can do this."

"Getting burned is better than being dead." Link remarked, slashing at a blood strand that came too close. "But it seems like there should be a weak point on this thing."

"Its head, where the jewel is." Chronos instructed them, yowling as he stepped directly in nasty blood spatter and burned a padded paw. "That's where Ganondorf stored the soul; the body is just an animated puppet, break the jewel and you cut the puppet strings."

"You could have told us that before we were near dead, cat." Rayne stabbed at a puddle with an arrow, watching as the light issued forth and sealed the blood in the shaft.

"I just realized it." The cat admitted, pouncing onto her shoulder. "Regardless, you need to do something, now."

The puddles were flowing back into the creature and its skin was cauterized in the places it had split. Link took off, stepping on the small floor spaces where no blood was swarming and Rayne drew an arrow. She whispered a small prayer to the Goddesses into the bolt, watching breathlessly as Link evaded a bloody vine and jumped at the copy, sword parallel to the ground. She quickly notched the arrow and fired.

The sword and the arrow hit the orange jewel on the creature's brow, and the Ganondorf clone exploded into coppery tongues of fire. Link was thrown back from the impact, straight into Rayne who caught him after skidding back a few steps and falling on her rear. They watched in horror as the creature's mouth opened in a perfect circle of silent screaming, writhing as it fell to its knees and held its head, trying to hold the jewel together. Heated shards burned hollows in its hands before falling to the ground and turning grey. The blood that hadn't made it into the body took the shapes of faces and hands, clawing at the clone, screaming and crying and pleading before finally evaporating.

The copy collapsed, its limbs shriveling into husks of papery flesh and powdery bone. Its eyes popped and bled out clear liquids and its hair turned black and faded. Rayne held Link as he hid Haruko's face in his tunic. When the decaying process was finished and the last curdling screech had ceased to echo in their ear drums, Chronos went over to the remains and began digging.

"What in the name of the Three are you doing?" Rayne questioned, sickened.

"Looking for the shards, I should think that would be obvious." The cat pawed a couple of pieces out, sending them skittering across the floor to Rayne with a well-placed push. "The soul is still trapped; you'll have to exorcise it."

"You're joking." She said dryly, glancing at the sharp pebble-like remnants of the jewel. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because the soul was not inherently evil, it was merely used for that purpose." Chronos carried the last large piece in his mouth, spitting it out at her feet. "He has already suffered an unfair life, kitten. At least let him have a pleasant death."

"You said that he was a man." Rayne collected the shards, "And yet he was also a God?"

"One by choice and the other by obligation." Chronos sat, cleaning the punctured pad on one paw. "He was the first male born to the Gerudo and he was revered as their God."

"But the Gerudo worship the Goddesses." Navi interjected, earning her a feline glare. "Well they do."

"Now they do, but not at first. The Gerudo are also descended from Ayins, as the Hylians are."

"Hierophant and Impa said something about this." Rayne thought aloud. "The Ayins were the first race the Goddesses created, but they eventually became the Hylians. The Sheikah were a result of an Ayin and a fey creature's love affair. But the Gerudo were never really discussed. They too are descended from Ayins?"

"Indeed. Unlike the Hylians, however, they wished to retain their prescient powers."

"Then they would still be considered Ayins." Navi argued. "That's what made the Ayin race so unique."

"No, there were two things that made the Ayin race what it was: prescience and the ability to converse with the Goddesses." Chronos examined his paw, sniffing at the scarred white-pink of it. "The Gerudo wanted nothing to do with the Goddesses after the Ayins began to divide; they wanted their own culture, untouched by the laws of the Three.

"So the group of women that made up the Gerudo tribe moved to the desert, a land uncultivated by the Goddesses, and lived by their own rules. And although the Goddesses were upset by this betrayal, they allowed it because they did not wish to bring harm to those they so adored. They did however, leave one farewell gift with the Gerudo; they made it so that they could not have the male children that they so prized.

"Many years passed, the Gerudo had their land but it was a hard existence, full of desert ghouls and all that the Goddesses had cleared out of the main portion of Hyrule. In the hardest of times the Gerudo began to forget the Goddesses existence, so when their first male child was born, it was said to be an omen and was crowned a God."

"I thought the Goddesses had made it so that they could not have male children." Rayne interrupted. "How could they have a boy child if the Goddesses had forbid such an action?"

"Some say it is because the strength in the mother Gerudo was so strong that she managed to find a loophole in the Goddesses decree. Others insist that the Goddesses felt badly for the failing Gerudo tribe and as such, they allowed them one male child for encouragement." Chronos looked at his assembled audience with annoyance. "May I finish the tale now, or does anyone else have a question?"

They fell silent and the time-feline continued. "When the child was declared a God the Goddesses were infuriated, and rightfully so: they had created the Gerudo and had received the cold shoulder, now they were being replaced by a man-child who was declared a deity on the basis of his gender?"

"Defending mommy and your aunties I see." Link remarked, yelping when he found a set of claws in his hand.

"They waited to see if the assumption would wear off as the man aged, but the rumor of his godhood only spread." Chronos continued as he withdrew his paw. "Finally, in a fit of jealous rage, the Goddesses destroyed him and locked his spirit in a plane of nothingness existence that he could never escape from alone."

"Then Ganondorf found him." Rayne murmured sadly.

"Precisely." Chronos sighed, "What happened to him was unfortunate and must be overturned. You must free him from the jewel, Rayne."

Rayne nodded, staring at the fragment she had before her uncertainly. "What was his name?"

"Dumno." Chronos sat back on his haunches at her side. "His name was Dumno."

Rayne put both of her battle scarred hands over the jewel pieces, closing her eyes and sending forth questing thoughts. There was nothing at first, just the crystallized fragments of a dead mind. Then she felt the attention of someone fall over her and whisper quietly._ 'Leave me.'_

Then she was there, inside the jeweled splinters, staring at the damaged facets and distorted dimensions. She startled back, doing as she was bid but then reconsidering. "Are you Dumno?" She asked the emptiness.

She could vividly feel his surprise, along with an increasing reluctance to converse. _'Yes.'_

"I'm here to free you." She flinched at her wording, certain she could have come up with a less clichéd way of telling him that. "My name is Rayne."

Silence, but she could still feel him there, trapped as surely as ever. _'Even if you did, the place I would end up is no better.' _

"No." Rayne tried to sound assuring, but there was a pressure building on her body back in the real world and she knew that she would have to flee soon or remained trapped in the jewel fragments with a disembodied voice for company. "Chronos, Farore's son, wishes for you to be released."

'_Farore's son.' _There was a bitter ring to his voice. _'He tried to save me once before, and failed. I do not see why he should succeed on this occasion.' _She could almost see his invisible eyes narrowing. _'Besides which, he would never come here; he is a coward, blindly adhering to the rules his Mother and her Sisters lay down. He would amend the law for no one.'_

"Rayne, do you mind if I intervene a little?" Chronos asked in the real world and she half came back to her body.

"I guess not." She murmured, fortifying her hold on the jewel so as not to slip out. There was more to this exorcising practice than she could have ever thought possible.

She sensed rather than felt Chronos moving into her mind, using her vocal chords and her presence in the jewel. "It is I, Chronos, the one you so scathing refer to as coward, and I will make true what this girl promises. The Goddesses wish for your release as well, Dumno. They have regrets about your demise and wish to give you a second chance."

'_Why should I believe you?' _Dumno appeared before her suddenly, a tall, gaunt man with flaming red hair that fell to his waist in soft tendrils. He was less angular than she had come to expect from the Gerudo, a softer look to his chin and cheekbones. His eyes were the color of violets and his skin was golden without Ganondorf's greenish tint. There was such hurt on his face that Rayne felt her heart break at the sight of him; he seemed utterly defeated and ill-used.

"Because it is the only chance you will have, and you would have to be a fool to refuse it." Chronos' sharp voice flitted from her lips.

At the deadly warning Dumno closed his eyes and put a hand to his face in exhaustion. _'Surely you can understand my skepticism, it has been… a long while since I was… disposed of.'_

Rayne felt Chronos soften slightly at the words, guilt overlaying his aggression on the subject. "I know, Dumno, and I am sorry, but the lady cannot reside in the crystal for long and only by combining my strength with hers can you be freed."

The Gerudo seemed to consider, his lavender eyes set on her face as if searching for a deception. Rayne allowed it but wished that he would hurry; she could feel the door she had accidentally opened when she had entered the jewel slipping shut with dooming clarity. There was a tortuous mix of want and cynicism on his features; he wished so badly to take the offer, she could tell, but there was little she could do to convince him to take a chance she wasn't sure was worth the risk of a repeated damnation. His mouth and eyes hardened bracingly and she knew he had come to a decision.

'_Please.' _Dumno said finally, putting his hands out to her in a beseeching gesture. _'Get me out of this warped crystalline palace.'_

Rayne took his hands into hers unthinkingly, surprised by their warmth, and she felt the appropriate threads of her core activating along with Chronos' own odd brand of otherworldly power. She sensed the opening of a gateway, one beside her own that led to a desert of white sand and enormous monuments that glittered in a fierce sun. Hawks flew in cloudless skies and desert-mice twittered in the hilly dunes. It was beauty, wild and passionate, the Goddesses' first offering to a man whose soul was frayed through Their own resentment.

Dumno smiled; hope blossoming on his face for the first time. _'Thank you, Chronos, Lady Rayne; you have done me a great service.'_

"You're welcome, my friend." Chronos and Rayne said as one as the light from the new portal blinded them.

Then Rayne was back in the circular room, Chronos on her lap and her hands outstretched, grasping nothing. She let them fall to her side and thus revealed the jewel Dumno had been trapped in, now merely a broken crystal scattered on the damp floor.

"He's gone…" Rayne felt Link's hand on arm and looked into his disquieted face. "Dumno is gone."

"He's having a nice, long chat with the Goddesses while they decide what he wants to do." Chronos nuzzled Rayne's stomach. "You did very well, kitten."

"Thank you." She scratched the feline between his ears, considering questioning him about his relationship with Dumno, but found the thought too prying and instead let it lie unanswered. She switched to a related topic. "I thought you said the Sage of this Temple was a female."

"Oh, she is." Chronos turned his head as a glowing green light began emanating from the doorway where the Ganondorf clone had arrived. "And she's waiting."

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Link entered the doorway, careful to avoid the splinters of the rotted door as he helped Haruko and then Rayne over the threshold. There were healthy green vines beginning to grow along the walls as they walked, sprouting delicate pink flowers that delighted the youngest of their number to no end. The hallway would have been dark if not for the glowing mushroom that were also sprouting on the ceiling and along the sides of the floor.

When they came to the end of the corridor, Link realized that they were in the Sacred Meadow where green plants were flourishing at an unbelievable rate. He felt eyes on him and so turned, to confront them.

Saria, her green hair tousled and her skin shimmering with dew, smiled at the blonde hero as he openly gaped at her. She was seated on the tree stump where he had looked for her once before, her feet not quite touching the ground and a pink fairy light circling her head.

Link felt an explosion of warmth in his chest and he covered the modest distance between himself and the green-haired Kokiri to scoop her into his arms for a long awaited embrace.

"Hello to you too, Link." She put her little arms around his neck and gave him a motherly kiss on the cheek. "I've missed you these seven long years."

"As I have missed you." Link kissed her on the nose, inciting a giggle, and then gently placed her back onto the tree base. "Goddesses, have I ever missed you."

Saria sighed, her sweet grin wilting as she considered him, taking in the changes with approval in her face. "You have grown…"

"You haven't." he touched one pointed ear lovingly. "Looks like I'll have to be the protector now."

She shook her head, eyes crinkling in the corners with unvoiced laughter. "You should know very well that size doesn't matter." She gripped the finger he had tapped her ear with, her entire fist not able to encompass it.

"Link, you know why I'm here, don't you?" Saria asked after a moment's quiet, releasing her hold on him to stare seriously into his face.

He almost laughed, then choked when he realized that the fact this was her favorite place in the forest wasn't the answer. "You're… the Forest Sage."

"Yes." She smiled sadly up at him. "I must go to the Sacred Realm to speak with Rauru to help in Hyrule's effort to destroy Ganondorf. I shall not return."

Link knew, somewhere in his mind, that this would happen. The instant that Chronos had said the Sage of Forest was female, he had guessed it. But the fact that he had been able to deny it before had been comforting, now his childhood friend was telling him to his face that the truth could no long be stalled. He couldn't fool himself any longer.

"I am sorry, Link." Saria stood on the tree trunk and reached upward, just barely able to touch his cheek in condolence. "But I must do this, for the good of all who dwell in Hyrule and for you. Without the Sage of Forest, your journey will be for nothing."

She let her hand remain there for several seconds before withdrawing it. She turned to the rest of his party. "Please take care of him for me." She pleaded in her sing-song voice. "If you have come with him thus far, you know that he is in need of aid in this quest and you all look like fine companions. So please…"

Everyone, including Haruko, nodded their assent. Saria thanked them with her eyes, as was her way, then turned back to Link. "I will miss you, my soul friend. Know that all you need to speak to me is the ocarina I once gave you and this."

She reached into the small bag at her side and handed a small, circular object to him, bound by a chain that she looped over his neck when he knelt down beside her. "This is the Forest Medallion, it will connect me to you so that I can see what you see and talk to you if required."

"Thank you, Saria." Link held the tiny green disk between his thumb and index finger to examine it. "I will treasure it."

She kissed him once more, on his other cheek, and then timidly placed one on his mouth. Her lips were soft as rose petals and she smelled like sunshine and greenery. She was gone before he had a chance to respond, her goodbye echoing in his ears like the call of a faraway summer wind.

Link looked at the place she had been seated, a sense of bereavement welling up deep within him. He sighed, rubbing the medallion again as if to remind himself that all was not lost. Link could feel the presence of his companions behind him, all of them inspecting the ground inquiringly to give him privacy and smiled. He had lost an old friend, but had gained so many new ones in the process. He could do nothing for a past he had not even witnessed, but he could do much for the present.

"We should go back to Kakariko to see if there's any news and restock the void with objects we used." He said; meeting their eyes as they decided it was safe to pay attention again.

"That sounds like a plan." Rayne concurred, scooping up Chronos before he could disagree and taking Haruko by the hand. "Empress… I mean, Impa, should be expecting us."

"What's an Impa?" Haruko asked curiously, tugging on Rayne's hand. "Is it a type of flower?"

Link laughed, wondering what the Sheikah would think of being confused with plants that yielded petals. He offered his hat to Navi so that she could rest while they traveled. He watched Haruko, swinging on a giggling Rayne's hand then turned to steal one last, lingering glance at the tree stump he had seen so many times before. Link, Hero of Time and Link the Boy without a Fairy, bowed his head in acknowledgement of a triumphant defeat, then took out the Ocarina of Time and called for Epona.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

Author's Notes: Whew, finally finished it. I'm sorry for the delay everyone, but you can all breathe a sigh of relief now, the Forest Temple is complete.

… And the Fire Temple hasn't even begun yet, ugh.

I love my reviewers:

To Casavenna: Thanks for stopping by to review; it's always nice to hear from someone who appreciates my writing. I'm sorry that this chapter is late too (I have a terrible habit of procrastinating) but I hope you like it just as well.

To Steve-Racer: Thank you for reviewing and offering to lend an ear. I was very bitter about the whole subject for some time, mainly because of the circumstances surrounding his death. I don't think I'll ever get over it, but my psyche has had time to heal through family and writing.

To GuruGuru214: Aww, I'm glad that you liked it. I'm sorry if I took your well ordered world and twisted it about like a dreidel, I hadn't realized that Dreamers was addicting. 

Rayne and Haruko are still getting along, and are rapidly progressing from their first meeting (Rayne is no longer a 'Mori-baba') which is only to be expected considering how adorable Haruko is. If she wants someone to be fond of her, they'll damned well do so and like it.

To dark dragon 00: I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter, I'm sure this isn't what you anticipated when you asked for me to update soon. Hopefully you'll come back to read more of Dreamers.

To Elannah: Heather, if you were trying to fool me into thinking that you were a completely different person, you failed miserably. First of all, Elannah is off of the list of names I commonly use and secondly, all I had to do was click on your name and read your bio. It's kind of obvious when you put your real name and that I'm your sister right in there. Silly little chit.

To Dakyu: Chronos appreciates your praise (he always complains that he never gets any fan-mail) and I value your comments. I hope people are still actually bothering to read this story when I don't update for five months…

To The Pilot: I'm so sorry to hear about your grandfather's passing, and, like I offered in my e-mail, I would be happy to listen to you if ever there is something you need to speak about but no one to talk to. Thank you once again for editing this chapter; I never seem to catch all of the errors myself. I hope Phantom of the Desert Lord was enjoyable enough to hold your attention. Chapter 23 was being written on the side and is already around eight pages long, so you can expect it sometime soon.

To Bexi: Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I'm sorry that the first few chapters are crap (I've been writing this for quite some time you understand; chapters one through ten were written at the end of my eighth grade year) but I plan on revising some time in the near future so look forward to it.

Extra goodies (for me anyway):

Alias : Hierophant

Real Name : Nicodemus

Origin of Name: English

Meaning of Name: Victory of the Masses

Pronounced: nih-kuh-DAY-miss

Race : Hylian

Runic Alignment : Rad

Eye color: Blue/Silver (He is blind from an attack that occurred long ago).

Hair color: White

Age: 68

Description: A master of magic, he seeks the latent powers that reside within each member of Arcana and teaches them how to use it to their advantage. He is stern and mistrustful of those he does not know. It is said that, in his youth, Nicodemus slew a dragon for a maiden. The dragon, with its dying breath, gave him its most prized possession, its knowledge.

"_The best and safest thing is to keep balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, then you really are a wise man." – _**Euripides **

Alias: Strength

Real Name: Alastria (Ria)

Origin of Name: Erisian.

Meaning of Name: averter/warder off of men

Pronounced: uh-LǼ-stree-uh

Race: Sheikah/Hylian

Runic Alignment: Wyn

Eye color: Light blue

Hair color: Brown (often braided)

Age: 33

Description: Teaches the group members the art of fighting and discovers what weapons best suit them. She was beaten by her husband for all the years they were married until she finally slew him one night; because of this she is naturally distrustful of all males, especially Link. She is cold, calculating and notorious for having a dry sense of humor. She wields a broadsword and knows little magic. She idolizes Impa, who is a distant relative of hers.

"_Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death." – _**Harold Wilson**


	23. Blood of the World Devourer

They were greeted inside Kakariko gates by Hierophant, seated in a cross-legged fashion with a gnarled walking stick in the crook of his arm. "Sabra said you would arrive sometime today." He stood stiffly, milky eyes just a little above Rayne's face. "I take it that your quest in the Forest Temple was successful?"

"Yes." Rayne followed the elder as he walked to Impa's home at a steady pace. "The Temple has been liberated and the sage is safely in the Sacred Realm."

"Good, good." He opened the door, an ambrosial smell wafting through the air and surrounding the hungry travelers. "Empress and Temperance have been cooking since early this morning, they assumed you would be starving upon your return."

The blind wizard stepped out of the warpath as the travelers rushed into the house, chuckling and hobbling in after them.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Rayne finished eating, letting the fresh bread absorb the remaining stew in her bowl, watching as the brown of it became tinted red and engorged. She had listened as Link explained to the assembled crowd the events that had passed within the temple of green and ghosts, adding her own comments whenever the blonde hero faltered in his rendition. He was particularly unsure what had occurred between Dumno and herself, but when the topic came up she begged a headache and fled to her room. She shut the door behind her, putting an ear to its cool surface to make sure that the conversation had continued in her absence. When she was certain no one was curious enough about her abrupt illness to intrude upon her room, Rayne fell upon her bed, clutching the quilts and burying her head into an inadequately stuffed pillow. Closing her eyes resulted in an immediate replay of the horrors provided in plenty by the Forest Temple and sleep was a distant sun covered by dark clouds of anguished uncertainty.

The only reason she had been able to defeat Dumno was because Chronos had convinced her that he was only a clever fake; she had frozen up in a most unhelpful manner, unable to do anything but gibber garbled words of fear when Ganondorf appeared, eyes full of bloody madness.

Rayne toyed with a frayed edge of her blanket, listening to the pleasant clinking of plates and soft conversation that filtered in through the crack between the floorboards and her door. Would she be able to stand against Ganondorf when the time came? Rayne didn't know, and it was the inability to answer such a pressing query that was eating away at her. She had accompanied Link only because she believed that her presence would provide decent support to the aspiring hero, but her latest actions were proving less than effectual.

She sat up quickly when a light tap sounded at her door, hesitant and soft. Her hair was messy and she finger-combed it in an impulsive attempt to make herself presentable. "Yes?" she called.

"Rayne?" It was Link's voice, made quieter by the wooden blockade. "Are you okay?"

Her mouth twisted in a grimace-smile as she lowered her hands back onto the coverlet. "I'm fine, Link, thank you for asking."

For a moment she thought he had left, so quiet was the space outside her door, but then a faint noise changed her mind. "Was there something else?" she asked tonelessly, despising and taking refuge in the emotionally void utterance. She stared at the door, wishing at once to see him and to make him go.

"No… no, I suppose not." His distinctive footfalls echoed as he walked away.

Rayne clenched a square of cloth on the quilt, intricate stitching displaying a field of dandelions weathering an oncoming storm. She was tired, sick of the anxious foreboding thoughts of falling apart permanently. She was frightened ... she could see the looming danger poised to attack. But first and foremost, she was disgusted at her own cowardice.

………………………………………………………………………………

Link sat down quietly, hands comforting one another in the safety of his lap. The crowd had thinned down to two but the warrior hardly noticed, his gaze was one of introversion and no one dared disturb him.

Impa watched him but also said nothing. She cleared the table in front of him, careful to keep the clinking to a minimum. When the plates and bowels were safely in the washing basin, the female took a seat across from Link and awaited his acknowledgement.

Temperance approached her from behind, tapping on her shoulder and whispering in the Sheikah's ear before setting a package wrapped in leather on the table and exiting. Link blinked into alertness, looking at the package and then at Impa in askance.

The female warrior smiled. "Preoccupied?" she questioned.

The young man nodded, expression sheepish. "I'm worried." He admitted. "The first Temple nearly killed us all."

"But it didn't." she reminded him. "Don't wrap yourself up in a world of could-have-beens, no matter how convenient it may seem."

"How is it convenient?" Link demanded without real heat, fingers tapping on the countertop in a gesture of restlessness.

"Would it not be convenient to claim your task too great a burden and hide here forever?" the Sheikah asked with an airy innocence, startling the blonde hero.

"I would never!" he began, but Impa held up a hand for silence.

"I am merely saying that it would be easier to claim that it was too hard and give up, would it not?"

Link rose and began to pace, the topic rankling to his ears. "Of course it would be easier," he admitted grudgingly. "But that isn't the point."

"Then what is the point, Link?" Impa cupped a cheek in her palm, her elbow on the table acting as a support. "Why fight?"

"I'm fighting to protect everyone!" he exploded, displaying rare temper as his face darkened. "I'm fighting for you and for Talon, for Saria and Haruko. I'm fighting for Time and the Goddesses."

"And Rayne?" Impa slipped in slyly, watching curiously as the fervor drained out of his face.

"And for Rayne." He whispered, reluctant to meet her face.

Impa casually leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "And what about Malon?"

Link's face fell and he crumpled in a boneless manner back into the solidity of his chair. "That wasn't fair Impa." He murmured, removing his hat and running a hand through his pale hair.

The Sheikah's indomitable countenance softened with the vaguest hints of sorrow and regret. "No, but it hasn't been as such in a long time, Link. Fairness has been bled out of Hyrule and all that is left is a shameful death."

The female warrior stood and walked over to the open window, studying the advent of twilight. "We're losing, Link." She closed the shutters and turned to face him in the dim candlelight, deep shadows thrown across her angular features. "We hate to admit it, but we are. Ganondorf grows more dangerous with each passing day, his influence spreading like a wildfire that leaves only blackened skeletons and ash in its wake; power is his single ally and it has served him hatefully well.

"The resistance grows small, Link, they are succumbing to his power one by one, or dying for their trouble. Arcana is the only significant rebellion still opposing him, but we aren't large enough to take him on alone. We will be defeated, Link. We will fight with all we possess, every magic, every weapon, every conceivable strategy and even some that are not, and we will still lose. It has become a matter of time rather than a question of it. He will infiltrate our stronghold soon and nothing short of the Goddesses Themselves will be able to stop the slaughter that will follow."

She was observing him, amethyst eyes like two chips of colored ice. "We are betting everything on you. If you fail, we fail. If you waver we will crumble. I know it doesn't seem right, we can only help you in limited ways, sparing small resources and a single teenage girl." Impa sat back, uncomfortable with long speeches. "We perform our own operations while you release the Temples, we are the only recognizable force that still stands against the Gerudo dictator and we will remain as such. We will continue to help you but Ganondorf must _not know _that you are the true threat."

Link's eyes widened with comprehension. "You're acting as a decoy, to distract him while Rayne and I disable his control in the Temples."

Impa smiled, a bestial gesture. "Yes, the only reason he did not appear himself to dissuade you from awakening the Forest Sage is because we were causing a small distraction in the Fire Temple. We were not able to locate the sage within before we were forced away, but many of the puzzles have been solved and a number of locked portals opened; passage through this Temple will be simpler for you than the previous one was."

"Ganondorf has had his hands full." Link remarked with a grim smile. "Any help you can give us is more welcome than you could possible realize, Impa."

The Sheikah bowed her head in acceptance of such a compliment. "I thought you would appreciate that." She pushed the hide-bound package across the table to Link. "And I believe you will appreciate this as well."

The young man accepted the packet with a bewildered glance, unwrapping it tentatively until a flash of crimson caught his eye. He gripped the textile with both hands and tugged it out, staring at the thick material with awe. The tunic was slightly heavier than the one he wore, a Goron print on the shoulder assuring him that it was of Death Mountain make. He laid it out on the table to examine it better.

"It's a mix of sewn bomb flower leaves and light metals, dipped in a well of dragon's blood." Impa stroked the rough tunic, tracing the veins of what had once been a leaf. "Temperance lined the inside with cotton so that the leaves do not rub your skin raw; Simri, or Tower as you were acquainted with him, had it tucked away in the odds and ends of things he rescued from Death Mountain before his escape.

"It is fire retardant and will repel most blunt blows. Don't assume you are invulnerable, knives and swords can still slip between the seams where the leaves meet. You can also be crushed or blown to bits, so be wary. It will only guard you from the Mountain's magma for so long if you become submerged, so keep that in mind.

"The only notable utility that will aid you is the fact that, even if it isn't covering the entirety of your body, the tunic will still protect you. The dragon's blood expels an aura that will guard you, if flame splashes your face, your hands, your feet, the blood will make certain there is no more harm done than to the parts of you that are unexposed."

Link began to nod, then his brow furrowed. "There's only one tunic." He remarked, staring at the empty leather vessel. "Won't Rayne need a tunic as well?"

Impa sighed, toying with the shorn edges of her silvery hair. "About that… Talon would prefer if she remained here."

Link's lips tightened and his fingers curled protectively around the scratchy tunic. "Is this about her wounds?" he questioned softly.

"Partly." The Sheikah admitted, "But it's also the fact that the Fire Temple is so perilous, more so perhaps than the Forest Temple. He's worried for her; he's worried for both of you. Talon believes that it might be easier on the two of you if she wasn't there."

"Talon thinks, but you disagree." The blonde man-child guessed, reading into her stoic expression.

Impa shrugged uneasily, and then leaned forward conspiratorially, eyes alight. "Even if he forbids it, she will follow you; it's instinct, gut and otherwise that guides her, and she knows that being with you is important, even if the reason is indistinct."

"I'm not so sure…" Link followed the contours of the Goron paw print burned into the red-dyed foliage. "I think something in the Forest Temple frightened her in some way, scared her until she… put up a mental wall to block it all out." The warrior frowned at his word choice but could think of no suitable synonym.

He felt an instant pang of compunction at Impa's concerned face. "What do you mean? When?"

Link thought back, pulling at memories made shoddier by Saria's goodbye. "The Ganondorf copy." He recalled, "She froze up completely because she thought he was the real one."

The Sheikah measured him in silence, purple eyes burning into his as though willing to see the past events through his eyes. "I hadn't considered that." She said finally, rising slowly. "Perhaps I should talk to her."

"I already tried." Link clasped her forearm gently when she attempted to pass, releasing her only when she ceased walking. "She didn't seem up to a conversation."

Impa glanced at him, hesitating. "What would you suggest?"

"Leave her for now." Link instructed, startling when Chronos jumped onto his lap, purring softly. "If she needs to work it out for herself, we'll just be interrupting her."

The silver-haired Sheikah was looking at the black cat, a small line drawn on her forehead. She met Link's gaze. "If you think that would be best."

"If she doesn't snap out of it alone, you can always step in." Link amended, rubbing a velveteen ear between index and thumb while Chronos pawed playfully at his wrist. "We don't want to lead her down the wrong road to recovery."

Impa smiled, an empty gesture. "Is there a wrong road to recovery?"

"I think the question here has become is there a right one?" Link picked the cat up off his legs, setting it on the ground and standing. "I'm going to ask Chariot to take a look at my shield and see if he can't improve it. Goodnight Impa."

Link opened the door and carefully shut it behind him, a trotting Chronos on his heels.

Impa didn't watch them leave; she was busy observing the sputtering candle on the table, shifting in an unsettling manner across the ruby tunic that Link had left spread over the top. For just an instant she saw an elongated snout covered in small, glinting scales with a single orange slit eye regarding her with an insatiable hunger. But when the female blinked the image was gone and only the memory, murky and primal, remained.

………………………………………………………………………………………

When they had exited the building, Link glanced around to make certain that there was no one around before looking down at the satisfied Chronos. "Why did you use my voice in there?" he asked indignantly.

The cat raised its shoulder blades in a shrug. "It needed to be said and I wasn't sure you could do it."

"You did the same thing to Rayne before." Link remarked, remembering the oddity of Chronos' masculine voice flitting from the young woman's lips.

"Yes." The cat jumped up on Link's shoulder when a Kokiri female and Hylian girl passed by, staring at the hero and giggling behind their hands before fleeing. "You have quite a few admirers."

"Don't change the subject." Link warned lowly.

Chronos sighed. "Rayne needs to overcome this obstacle alone. You can't help her by covering the trail with pretty, well-meant lies. She has built Ganondorf up in her mind to be some unconquerable beast, but she needs to correct that misconception; he is a fiend but he is not invincible. If she can't do so, then she will fall apart when you finally confront him."

Link frowned deeply. "She may not ever do so, Talon wants her to stay here."

"So I heard." The cat remarked amusedly, jumping down once more. "But I don't think she'll break her perfect streak for obstinacy now, do you?"

"I don't know…" the blonde warrior divulged, staring off into the looming darkness of the sky. "It's hard to tell. Too many things have been lost or ruined to assume that everything will work out in the end."

Chronos said nothing; it was quite possible that he hadn't needed to use Link's voice to make his point after all, the young warrior was getting wiser with each passing day. Such a shame, now who would he tease? Well, there was always Rayne…

…………………………………………………………………………………

Rayne opened one heavy eyelid, glancing around her room and recognizing that it was night. She pushed herself up, jumping when the figure beside her mumbled incoherently. Haruko had curled up under the blankets, which had gathered around her face and tiny middle, leaving her feet uncovered. Said appendages were at extremes from one another, one hanging off the edge of the mattress where it twitched occasionally while the other was thrown out over Rayne's stomach. She snickered quietly, gripping the soft sole of the young girl's foot and setting it on the bed next to her. She set her own feet down on the floor, fully prepared for the cold shock, and began to pick her way across the room to the exit. Rayne cracked her door open, peering out before opening it fully.

A candle, melting into a grey puddle on the table, provided enough light for her to see that she was the only person besides Haruko in Impa's home. Rayne pulled the door closed behind her, hoping that the inconstant light had not awakened the young girl slumbering in her quarters. When she was sure Haruko was still sleeping, she tiptoed to the kitchen to find something to chew on, the meal she had eaten when they had first arrived seeming like a distant memory.

She found some hard yellow cheese and fluffy brown bread, making little stacks out of them for herself and Haruko when she ceased dreaming. Rayne positioned them on a plate and set them down on the table before she noticed the red tunic. Frowning with a newly made sandwich caught between her teeth, she circled around the counter until it was in front of her.

Rayne took the food from her mouth, chewing slowly as she stared. There was something strangely off about the article of clothing, the way its image settled across her eyes, the smell that wafted up from it to her nose and touched the pink buds of her tongue.

The novice sorceress reached out, putting an index finger to the sleeve and running it sideways curiously. Little barbs caught, tearing through the first layer of skin and drawing no blood. She drew her hand back, examining the results closely before shifting her gaze back to the tunic.

It was obviously made to be a fire deterrent, that much she could hazard from a distant recall of Hierophant's brief lessons concerning specialized elemental clothing. The scent was faded but what remained was unquestionably musky with an odd tang that reminded her vaguely of heavy or fired copper. Blood of some kind, possibly from a fire salamander or a phoenix, although both were extremely nasty toward Hylians and notoriously hard to kill; if one were determined enough, a fire-based creature could be caught and utilized to make such a useful piece of magic.

The distinct pattern indicated that some sort of large foliage had been stitched together, along with some metal that she couldn't classify. All in all, it was an intriguing vestment, intended for the Fire Temple where heat sucked the moisture out of the skin so quickly that it peeled like bark on a dead tree.

Rayne had heard of people braving the depths of the volcano and falling unconscious from the heat; their bodies blackened beyond identification and stinking like charred meat. Those who managed to somehow avoid suffering the same fate could only bypass the smoking husks of faded humanity; dragging their bodies would have strained whatever magic kept the living from burning up and joining their more foolhardy fellow adventurers.

Rayne heard Haruko stirring in the next room, calling for her in a voice that implied sleep was still lying heavily against her eyes. The young sorceress stared at the tunic for a few seconds longer before turning on her heel and striding toward the door. She walked into the room, sitting on the bed and calming the confused girl by running a hand through her hair. Rayne whispered consoling words against nightmares until Haruko fell back into a soft sleep. Rayne watched her, wishing that her worries could be so easily assuaged and just as unreal.

There had been only one fire tunic, a single cloth pass into an aptly named volatile mountain of black obsidian and air-light pumice. Link was leaving her behind.

………………………………………………………………………………………..

Link hefted the shield onto his right arm and drew his sword, testing to see if it still threw him off balance.

"Well?" Chariot asked gruffly, wiping his face with a cottony sheet and ceasing to air the bellows.

"It is very well crafted." Link granted him, touching the slightly warm, blank face.

"Yes." The fire-darkened blacksmith said simply, taking it from Link and investigating it himself. "Is it light enough?"

"Yes," Link couldn't help but feel offended at the question; a child could have lifted the guard without much trouble. "But that's what worries me." He absolutely refused to shrink back from Chariot's disgruntled glare. "It's almost too light."

"Hmph." Chariot placed the shield flat on his worktable and grabbed a short sword from the display behind him. Before Link had realized what he was doing, the tanned man had already raised the sword above his head and brought the flat of the blade down upon the recently created shield. The weapon broke with a thundering snap, the tip flying through the air to bury itself into the hardwood of the floor near an unhappy black cat.

"I fired it differently." The blacksmith explained, handing the undamaged shield back to the startled young warrior. "It is strong but not cumbersome as shields typically are. You will take a beating unlike that of which you have ever experienced on Death Mountain."

Link nodded, recognizing the strained note in Chariot's voice as one of disuse, it was probably the most he had spoken in one period of time before. "That's amazing."

Chariot shrugged, opening a cabinet and taking out various canisters filled to the brim with different colored dyes. Then he took a small hammer a chisel down from the highest shelf. "I suppose now you'd like to ruin a perfectly good shield by decorating it."

Link smiled, accepting the tools with a nod. "Of course."

"I worry about this generation." Chariot sighed heavily, bending to retrieve the sword tip buried in the ground and missing Link's smirking expression.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Rayne was patiently waiting for someone to walk through the door. She had the tunic next to her, evidence to present during her interrogation. The candle had died and darkness was a questionable companion, at once both suffocating and providing needed concealment. Numbness was wearing off and anger, dark red and fiery, was settling in her gut. Had Link agreed to leave her or had he been bulled into it? Who had given the order to leave her behind to rot like excess fruit in this stuffy little village? She wanted to pace, wanted to rend and tear and scream. Rayne felt betrayed, relieved of duty without even a chance to disagree. She was still the helpless child, the mulish mess-maker, the odd one out. Decisions pertaining to her were made without a thought to her feelings on the subject and she was utterly sick of it.

There was a soft hiss of air as the door opened, snapping her out of her thoughts. Talon stood in the gateway, a smaller, more petite figure behind him. He seemed surprised to see her, sitting in the dusky room, but he recovered quickly, smiling and gesturing for the person behind him to enter. Star, pale haired and frowning delicately at the visibility in the room, did as she was bid, strolling over to Rayne and leaning down to lift her shirt and examine her bandages.

"Do you mind if I remove these partially?" The healer asked, pointing to the gauze.

Rayne inclined her head in acquiescence, then realized that the young woman probably hadn't seen the gesture and backed up the movement with words. "Do what is required, Sitareh."

The healer began to work, unwinding the bandages and gasping at the state of the wounds underneath. "These are awfully nasty, they were cleaned well though."

Rayne did not respond, her gaze was only for Talon who stood uncertainly in the doorway, tempted to enter the room but feeling the growing hostility. Star, also sensing the tension in the air, wisely remained silent.

The sorceress stared daggers at Talon, fists clenched in rage. "How dare you." She growled, drawing his attention to her face rather than the healer's careful movements. "It was you, wasn't it? The one who gave the order?"

Talon's face went carefully blank as though he had been preparing himself for this moment. "When did ya find out?"

"There's only one tunic." She snarled, twitching when Star's magic enveloped her back, frustratingly tranquil. "It wasn't hard to figure out from there; you were against my accompanying him to the Temples and these wounds were the perfect excuse to confine me here."

For just an instant the mask fell and there was confusion followed by some strange mingling of relief and disappointment. Then the emotionless façade was back in place, swift and anger provoking. "It'd be best fer all parties involved if ya remained 'ere."

Those words, spoken in his peculiar accent, set her off. "It's my choice! If you expect me to sit here until I acquire bedsores like some useless defect, then you should seriously reconsider. I will not sit back in this conflict; I refuse to take the coward's way out!"

"Stayin' 'live is not cowardice." Talon yelled in return, startling both girls. "You'd throw yer Goddess damned life 'way ifin you thought it would benefit an'one!"

Rayne stood, shivering with fury in only a half wrapped binding to conceal herself. "At least you imply that I would be useful, here all I can do is sit like a child and wait for the adults to make the nightmares disappear!"

"Yer a mage, Rayne, we need all the magick we kin get."

"You have Bri and Nic, not to mention Gaea for that, I'm a novice in comparison."

He was becoming visibly perturbed; Talon was terrible at hiding his feelings for long. "Damn, Rayne can't ya jus' do as yer told for once in yer life?"

"No." the fire had filtered out of her voice and iciness ruled her tone and features. "I may be afraid and I will more than likely be hurt again, but you can not honestly sit there and tell me that Arcana needs me more than Link."

Talon quieted, Star had long since finished mending the wounds on Rayne's back and was considering fleeing the scene. She had the sneaking suspicion that this ugly exchange was just warming up.

The Emperor paced, shoes squeaking faintly when he turned on his heel. "I won't let ya go." He said finally, facing her.

Rayne stood, fully cured and just as stubborn. "And I won't let you stop me."

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

Link had spent the night finishing his shield but sleep had claimed him sometime during the process. He was breathing quietly, paint and metallic shavings decorating his face and hair. Chariot examined the portion of the shield that Link's head did not block, admiring the perfected lines and paint job. He wondered who the child had mastered under, he seemed well versed in metalwork.

There was a knock on the open-air room, polite and unhurried. "Come on in, as if I could stop you." Chariot remarked gruffly, returning to stringing a hilt with leather for better grip.

Impa stepped in, holding up a hand in greeting. "Hello, Episkopos."

He didn't bother to look at her. "Empress." He greeted in his usual monotone.

The Sheikah's brow furrowed, "I've told you a hundred times to use my real name when we're in the village. It's only when we're doing operations on the outside that our Arcane names become necessary."

"Tough habit to break." The man replied tersely, continuing to wrap.

Impa sighed inaudibly, then began looking around with interest. "You know, I've lived in this village for most of my life and I've never been in here."

"Good for you." He muttered, flinching when he caught sight of her hurt expression in his peripheral vision and quickly expanded to let out the venom. "It isn't much to look at, anyway."

"It's charming." Impa disagreed, touching the tip of a completed spear and admiring the guilt work on the shiny surface. "This is very intricate; I didn't know you were so artistic."

Chariot snorted contemptuously. "Useless, the spear would do its job just as well without being decorated. I merely fulfilled a request."

"I always took you for a hard-bitten warrior." She remarked, smiling slightly. "But it's always nice to find something new out about an old friend."

"Hmph." He put the sword down and faced her. "I assume you came here for more than stimulating conversation."

Impa grinned, the change making her face look undeniably girlish. "Artistic and bossy, what a curious mixture."

"Empress…" he was taller than she and able to look down upon her even through the honorific title.

Her beam melted away and she was somber once more. "Rayne lost the dagger you made for her during battle, apparently its still circumnavigating somewhere around the Forest Temple. Regardless, she needs a replacement for the Fire Temple."

Chariot raised a brow, turning to open a small cabinet filled with short swords and long knives. "I thought Emperor was against her going."

"He was," the Sheikah replied, peering into the metallic selection. "But you know Rayne. She has a mind of her own and she's determined to blaze a path with it."

Chariot chose a blade, short and sharp with a deadly point, examining it before shaking his head and returning it to its proper place. "She has always been stubborn."

"Indeed." Impa glanced at Link, still asleep on the shield's face. "He's going to wake up with a kink in his neck."

"Best way to wake up." Chariot spoke with a nearly dreamy quality to his tone. He ignored Impa's pleased expression and hefted out two daggers, identical except for overall length. Their hilts were lined with gleaming aqua colored metal and feathered tassels with bright beads dangled where the base split off into a blade. One was slightly longer than the Sheikah's forearm while the other was roughly the size of a sword.

"I thought you didn't like decoration." The female said slyly, admiring the beads.

"It isn't decoration." Episkopos replied quickly, gesturing to the beads. "These are magic enhancers, they will be able to not only modify Rayne's talents but also force her to reconsider losing them; they have small increments of intelligence instilled into them by World so that they cannot be mislaid."

"Very impressive." Impa congratulated him. "And what are the feathers used for?"

Chariot's face was impassive, but she could sense his hackles rising in challenge; Impa quickly changed the subject. "I'm not quite sure Rayne could wield something of that size." She said, pointing to the longer of the two weapons.

Episkopos shrugged, untroubled. "They come as a set, she'll use both or neither."

The female warrior sighed irritably, she had forgotten how difficult their resident blacksmith could be at the slightest provocation. "Very well, but do not be surprised when one comes back scathed and the other untouched."

Chariot ignored her, wrapping the blades separately in leather and passing them into her arms. "Don't assume too much, pointy, she may surprise you."

Impa frowned at him, annoyed at the nickname, though it was a little less reserved than his typical name for her. A near inaudible snicker caught her ear and she turned to observe Link trying to quiet himself by hiding his face in his shield.

"Oh great…" Impa muttered, glare switching between the two males. "Now I'll never hear the end of it."

……………………………………………………………………………………

Chronos tip-toed around town in the pale light of sunrise, avoiding those early awake; he passed on silent paws a half-asleep Fool, running an errand from Sabra's home to Impa's. The cat slipped from shadow to shady corner, listening. He found the selected target seated on a crate, dyeing blades with black paint. He stopped, meowing quizzically at the hooded man. Devil turned blue eyes on the cat, then did a quick scan of the area before proceeding as before. "What is it that you want?"

"A full report, if you please." Chronos replied quietly.

Devil chuckled, letting the blade drip excess darkness onto the crate. "You're terribly demanding for such a small creature."

"And you're terribly arrogant for a disciple. Proceed."

The hooded assassin flicked the last of the coating off of the blade, testing the top where it had dried. "Do you know why hired killers dip their tools into black paint?"

Chronos heaved an impatient sigh. "To match with the rest of your ensemble?"

Devil dropped the blackened dagger, its point burying in the ground near the cat, protruding upright. "Tell me, Temporis, what do you see in the blade?"

Chronos' tail twitched. "This is an old question, Nzame, and I am as ancient as they come. Do not bore me."

"Humor me, Temporis."

"Very well." The cat heaved a great sigh, full of well-worn patience. "I see nothing, all reflection is obscured."

"In the night, when the traitorous moon shines down upon me like a beacon, I can hide myself but not my weapons, and so I disguise them, black as the midnight they must blend into." He expertly flipped a dagger, watching the cat pointedly. "For it is only in this guise that they can truly perform their intended duty."

There was a smile in the cat's voice. "You never could just spit out what you wanted to say, Nzame."

"I'm afraid not, Temporis, that is why I am your disciple." He bowed, respect and mockery in the simple movement. "Arcana will perform diversions while your party reclaims the Fire Temple. Beware, Ancient One, for not all who enter those hazardous halls of molten rock come out… intact."

"I will keep that in mind." Chronos stood and trotted away, pausing and adding in a soft whisper. "I am sorry."

There was a hardening around the hooded man's eyes and the dagger he had been toying with slipped from his fingers as memories played havoc with his senses. "As am I, Temporis, as am I."

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Link put the shield on his back to accept the Master Sword from Impa. "Is Rayne ready?"

"Yes." There was a pronounced smoothness around her mouth, as though she were trying exceedingly hard not to smile. "She's waiting at the Death Mountain gate with the cat."

Link nodded. "Is Talon still upset?"

"Of course he is, she is expressly disobeying him and making no effort to conceal it." A small twitch appeared at the corner of her mouth, if she waited much longer to grin her head would crack in half. "But he isn't going to stop her."

"I don't want to drive the wedge between them any deeper." Link confessed, shouldering his traveling pack. "I'm not sure what to do."

"They'll work it out." Impa patted his head encouragingly, earning her a stiff glare from the young warrior. "What? Are you too old to be reassured?"

"How are you still taller than me…?" the hero asked sullenly, warranting a laugh.

"Good food, plenty of milk, that and people of my tribe are naturally tall." Impa winked at him. "Now go, before Rayne comes to decapitate me for making you dilly-dally."

Link did as he had been bid, stopping when Impa pressed something into his arms. "What is it?" he questioned, looking curiously at the wrapped parcel.

"It's from Simri, or the Tower as you came to know him. It's for Rayne, he was up all last night completing it."

Link peeked inside, eyes widening when he recognized a second fire tunic nearly identical to his own. "I thought he brought only one…"

"He did," Impa's gaze flickered toward the direction of the gate, anticipating an aggravated Rayne to fall upon her like divine hounds. "But he brought enough supplies to create a new one as well. The only difference is that he didn't quite have enough dragon's blood to fire-proof it."

"So it isn't as protective as mine?" Link asked worriedly.

"It's not as defunct as you may think." Impa pointed to the tunic, alerting Link to the slightly brighter splotches of red against the crimson-black majority. "When Tower ran out of wyrm blood, he used another type that is just as fire resistant: Goron blood."

Link stared at her, mouth half open in shock. "He used his own blood to augment the missing dragon portion?"

Impa shook her head affirmatively. "If Rayne enters the Temple with nothing but her magic to defend her she'll tire, quickly, Simri knows that well enough. His family and friends are trapped within the cells that line the walls of the Fire Temple, awaiting their fate. Rumor has it that Ganondorf has awakened a serpentine beast and plans on slaking its hunger with his prisoners. If you two do not make haste, many lives will be lost."

Link let loose a short, angry exhalation of breath. "We won't lose any of them."

Impa smiled weakly. "I hope you're right."

"Link, are we going or not?" Rayne's voice rang out, snapping him out of his raging state of mind.

"Be right there." He called, wrapping the tunic up and hurrying to the gate.

Impa chuckled into her palm, almost in awe of Rayne's ability to whip a man into shape, when she felt a shadow at her back. She turned quickly, eyes narrowed and hand on the hilt of her sword in warning. Chariot stared down at her sudden movement, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Did I disturb you?"

Impa released her weapon, disgusted at her own paranoia. "Damn Episkopos, you need to make more noise when you walk, it's unnerving when you appear behind me with nary a sound when I should hear a mountain moving."

She glanced at the bundle in his arms and her expression immediately softened. The kid couldn't have been more than ten minutes old, its wooly exterior still sticky with birthing fluids and blood. "What happened? Is there something wrong with it?"

"Doe died." He shifted the small goat to give it more breathing room, his massive arms holding it as gently as Impa held glass; she had always had problems with anything more fragile than steel. "She wasn't supposed to birth today, otherwise I would have done something. By the time I knew something had gone bad and gone to the stables, she had already bled herself dry. I had to cut the kid out."

Impa stared at him, silently considering the guilt in his eyes. He could have done nothing more, but he seemed shaken still by the loss of a single female goat. She held out her hands and Chariot reluctantly placed the premature babe in the cradle of her arms. "Come to my house and I'll mix some milk and honey to feed it." She instructed quietly as not to upset the kid. She patted the little bundle of awkward limbs, a warm feeling rising in her chest when it responded by putting its slim muzzle in her hand. Why on earth had Chariot brought the little dear to her? Certainly anyone would have been better, Temperance instantly coming to mind, or perhaps even Moon. The kid bleated and stared at her with little golden eyes, she was glad that Episkopos trusted her so.

She led the way to her home, staring at the door and realizing that she couldn't open it without depositing the goat somewhere else. Then Chariot was there, opening the door and waiting for her to enter. "Such a gentleman." Impa murmured to the kid, eyes twinkling "It was probably mostly for you, but I like the benefits."

Chariot stiffened, making an impatient gesture for her to enter, inciting a giggle from Impa and what may have been an amused bleat from the kid.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Chronos eyed the two young people curiously, wondering if they could also sense that they were being followed. Rayne was simmering quietly, knuckles white against the new bundles of weapons and clothing that she was feeling too proud to place in the void. Link was also quiet, but his silence was more speculatively apprehensive than angry. Chronos imagined that it was due to the sudden constraint that had been placed on him; the Fire Temple required not only skill and precision but haste. Most young adults did not operate well when they discovered they had a limited span to complete a task; it made them jumpy and prone to error.

The black cat stole a peek out the side of his eye to see if the fairy had noticed, but quickly dismissed the idea; fairies were decidedly whimsical creatures, they took notice of something only when it was shoved in their face and was sparkly.

He stopped, sitting and waiting. Rayne and Link continued on, lost in their own thoughts. Amazingly, it was the fairy who realized first that they were leaving him behind. "Are you coming cat?" she asked, alerting Rayne and Link who stopped.

Chronos wondered if his fur had shone with sunlight in just such a way that it had caught the fairy's attention, then shook the rather mean-spirited thought away to answer the query with another one. "Has anyone else noticed that we are only two large enough to have noisy footsteps and yet there is an odd echo of three?"

Rayne blinked and Chronos felt a weak questing spell wash over and past him, exploring the trail. It snapped back after going only a few feet and the young woman hissed. "Reveal yourself."

The air near Chronos shimmered and darkened, taking on a shape.

"Haruko?" Link questioned, staring at the guilty little girl. "What are you doing here?"

"I don't want to be left behind." She said tremulously, "I don't know any of those people."

Link kneeled down beside her and nearly toppled when she rushed in to embrace him. "It's too dangerous, Haruko. Otherwise you could come."

"But I'll be really good!" the little girl promised tearfully into his chest. "Please let me come."

"No, Haruko." Rayne said gently, kneeling also. "We're sorry but it's much better this way. We don't want you to get hurt."

Chronos couldn't help but give a chortle; Rayne had managed to retrieve her matronly components from her psyche of teenage angst. The black cat had to admire that she could adapt so well to different situations.

"But you're going!" Haruko protested, taking her face away from the comfort of Link's warm torso.

"Only because Link needs my help." Rayne lied through her teeth to the cat's perceiving ears.

"Link-kun needs my help too!" Haruko gripped the warrior's shirt in one tiny hand. "I could help, remember? When Gandondwarf tried to track us?"

"That's Ganondorf, and yes, I remember." Link sighed, tilting her chin up in a paternal manner. "But do you remember when the Poes nearly hurt you? Or when Chronos had to protect you from the phantom's blood?"

The girl's face fell. "Yes." She mumbled.

"Well, that's why Haruko. We don't want you hurt."

"Rayne-chan got hurt." The little girl objected obstinately.

"But Rayne is old enough to continue functioning when wounded, you are not." Chronos snapped irritably, growing tired of waiting. "Link, have you forgotten the lives at stake in Death Mountain while you sit here trying to reason with a child? We need to hurry."

It was a low blow and Chronos knew it. Rayne turned a harsh glance upon the black cat when Link's kindly face changed into one of dread and shame. He quickly hugged the little girl only to swiftly release her. "Go back to the village, Haruko. Impa will look after you while we are gone."

"But—!" the girl's argument was cut off as she was lifted by a pair of strong arms.

Chariot had come up the path, quiet and stealthy as a creature less than half his size, and now held the stunned girl firmly without crushing her. He met Rayne's gaze. "Impa told me she may have slipped away to here. She sent me to retrieve her."

"Thank you." Rayne said gratefully, planting a kiss on the now squirming child's head. "Stay with Impa, Haruko." She instructed.

The young girl's eyes dropped. "Yes, Rayne-chan." She said quietly, ceasing to wriggle against the large man's grip.

Rayne hesitated and Chronos saw her indecision mirrored in Link's gaze. They obviously did not want to leave the child behind but they feared to take her. Chronos almost reminded them that they had no third fire-resistant tunic when they came to the verdict themselves.

"Goodbye Haruko." Link said, mussing the young girl's hair encouragingly. "We'll be back soon."

"We'll bring you a present." Rayne added, hoping to quell the tears that were swimming in Haruko's eyes.

"Parents." Navi said under her breath to Chronos who could only laugh at the pronouncement.

……………………………………………………………………………………

The halls of Death Mountain were eerily void of life. Any movement the group made stirred equal layers of dust and dirt, untouched by years of anything more animate than the wind. Their footsteps echoed in the hollows of the cavernous structure like ghosts of some ancient giants, ominous and sad.

"It's just like Kokiri Forest." Rayne remarked, touching a hand to the worn down etchings on the stone walls and staring at the utter emptiness of it all. "They left no one behind to tell what occurred."

Link's glance was darting around, searchingly. "There don't seem to be any monsters either."

"There are wards on the floor that repel those with evil intentions." Chronos swept his tail across the dirt to reveal etchings on the floor as well. "Ganondorf could place none of his minions here without causing them pain."

"That sounds right up his alley." Rayne said, leaning to scatter the debris and examine the wards closest to her.

"He probably would have forced them to stay." Chronos reported. "But it would have eventually either killed them or purified them, and even Ganondorf had to realize how nonsensical that would be. He had the creatures herd the Gorons into the Temple like cattle and then flee."

"The Temple has no wards?" Link asked, bending his knees to see what Rayne was looking at.

"The whole point of the Temple is that it keeps the balance. They are like scales, equal amounts of chaos and order, dark and light, life and void."

"Ganondorf pretty much disposed of the scales then." Link said bitterly, straightening and dusting off his hands.

"Yes, and it is part of the reason he must be stopped." Chronos trotted down the nearest set of stairs. "Every instance throughout history that they have been tipped in one direction, great disaster has followed."

Rayne and Link exchanged unnerved glances before proceeding, Navi's fairy light leading the way just above Chronos. "The Temple entrance is in the throne room, we must hurry."

…………………………………………………………………………………………

It was the first blast of heated air that threw them off balance, momentarily blinding them before the tunics galvanized completely and took the bulk of the fiery warmth.

Link inhaled, unnerved by the utter dryness in the oxygen but at least assured that the fire-retardants worked when his lungs did not shrivel or burst into flames.

He nodded to Rayne, stopping when he noticed that she was busy examining the environment rather than waiting to see if his flame tunic worked before stepping into the treacherous area herself. Link felt Chronos shifting uncomfortably against the inside of his tunic and sighed. "You don't have to come, Chronos." He informed the cat in a tone that implied this was not the first time he had suggested such an action.

"And leave you two to your own devices? I think not." The cat cautiously peeked his head out of Link's collar, causing the blonde hero's neck to twinge as the fur brushed against his skin.

Rayne saw that action and giggled, receiving a glare from both males. "You'd find it more comical from my standpoint." She assured them.

"I'm sure it will be; you get him when we've walked two-hundred paces." Link itched his neck, wondering if he was allergic to cats.

"We'll never get anywhere if we switch him so often." Rayne disagreed, her eyes sparkling. "Make it five-hundred."

"But—!" Link yelped when a claw found his unguarded pectoral. "Chronos!"

"Move." Chronos ordered, retracting his nail. "We'll work out the details later."

Link mumbled angry warnings, glancing about to see how they would proceed while resisting the urge to inspect his wounded chest. The door directly across from them was unreachable, too far for even the hookshot to reach.

"Over there." Rayne instructed, pointing to an open tunnel.

Link looked at it dubiously, staring at the stepping-stones that led the way. "Do you think they're stable enough?"

"Probably." Rayne worried at her lip, a gesture Link was beginning to associate with serious thought process. "I'll test it out."

Link shook his head negatively. "No, I'll—"

"Look, Link." She had her hands up on her hips, always a bad sign. "If the stones collapse then you could probably catch me. If you fall, I don't think I could save you."

Link's brow furrowed, the logic of it weighing down upon him. He felt Chronos adjust himself inside the tunic and heard the cat whisper. "She's right you know."

Link swore, removing his hookshot and preparing to break her fall. "Fine, but I'll be Goddess-damned before I like it."

Rayne smiled winsomely at him. "Of course."

Link rolled his eyes and straightened, ready as ever. He watched as Rayne's muscles bunched up and met her eyes as she sent him one last searching glance before she leapt onto the nearest stone. Link flinched as small pebbles crumbled from the top of the flat stone face to fall directly into the magma pit below. His throat worked fearfully when she floundered, her arms trying to do a balancing act to make up for the ill landing before standing perfectly still. Seconds ticked by and the rock remained steady beneath Rayne. She released the breath she had been holding, carefully wiping sweat beads from her brow, then she held out her hands. "Give me Chronos."

Link blinked in puzzlement and felt the cat immediately cease all squirming activities. "What?"

"With your armor, your weapons and a wriggling cat, you might end up losing your equilibrium and falling. Toss him here."

Link hesitated then reached up his shirt to grasp a yowling cat, wincing when Chronos' claws sank deep and left bloody grooves along his torso.

"I refuse to be _tossed_ like so much baggage!" the cat snarled.

"Calm down." Link hissed in return. "If you keep fussing it may throw off my aim."

The cat went limp in his arms, but his stare remained venomous. "I will make you pay dearly for this."

"Well, until then—" Link didn't bother finishing his sentence, he merely threw the cat across the ravine and into Rayne's waiting arms.

"You okay, Chronos?" Link heard her ask, noting the bright blush of her complexion as the cat, overheated and shaken, crawled into her tunic without ceremony.

"I've had better days." Came the cat's muffled reply.

Link had been certain Rayne would have put up a more sincere fight when it came to Chronos taking up residence in her clothing; her face was scarlet but she was silent as she stepped across to the next platform.

Link jumped, hearing the unpleasant grind of metallic objects as they clashed against his shield. The stone platform remained steady, as did the next, but he was more focused on Rayne's form than he was on observing his own steps. If she fell he wasn't entirely certain he could make it in time to help her; the heat was blurring his vision and he had put the hookshot back into its holster, the steel too hot to hold for long without risking some melting. He rubbed his eyes in an effort to clear his sight-line, muttering when all that changed was the size of the spots before his eyes. He misjudged the distance between his stone step and the next, and found his foot meeting nothing more solid than a thermal breeze. Link fell forward, twisting to put his pack in a better position and gripping the ledge. His fingers convulsed when the sharp edge lacerated his fingers, blood from his own digits dripping onto his face. The heat was unbearable, it twined through his boots and the fire tunic's protective aura until he was certain that his skin was cracking and burning away.

"Link?" Rayne's voice was panicked when she spotted him, hanging precariously while blood welled from his fingers.

"I'm fine." He gritted out, feeling ridiculous. He really couldn't help Rayne if he was in such trouble. The blonde warrior hauled his body up, tunic scraping against the sharp stone and resisting punctures for which Link was grateful. He sat, gasping for breath and looking at his fingers apathetically.

"Can you make it?" Rayne's voice again, filled with concern.

"Yeah." Link stood unsteadily, shaking off the cobwebby feeling surrounding his mind. "The pack just threw me off."

He heard Chronos' snigger but ignored it as he jumped to the final platform and then on to safer ground. The instant he touched down Rayne grabbed his wrists and ordered him to uncurl his fingers.

Link considered refusing, they were on a time limit and low-level healing spells were a waste of energy that could be utilized later. But her determined face convinced him otherwise and he warily revealed the state of his hands. Rayne examined them carefully, pulling out a shard of broken rock in a ruthlessly kind manner, cooing sweet nonsense to him to keep his mind away from the hurt. His blood coated her fingers in moment, like battle dye, dark from severed veins and balmy wind.

He felt her focus, felt the creeping sensation of veins and miniscule muscles moving to conform to her will. He watched as the blood flow lessened and finally stopped, intrigued by the fashion in which his skin prickled as it stretched to meet its estranged side and meld. The white glow of magic faded and he clenched and relaxed to test the tightness of the skin, shiny where it was sealed.

"Does it hurt?" Rayne asked, tracing the scarring and watching his face for any signal of pain.

"No, its fine, thank you." Link spied Chronos peering at him from Rayne's collar, green eyes curious. The blonde hero laughed. "Comfy in there, cat?" he asked unthinkingly.

Chronos' ear twitched in his direction. "Oh yes, quite." There was a wicked grin in his purring tone. "You'd be amazed how accurate the comparison with fleshy pillows is."

Link and Rayne flushed accordingly. "One more remark like that cat, and you'll find yourself swimming with the fire salamanders."

"Such a temper, kitten, it hardly suits your cushy exterior."

Link accepted Chronos wordlessly, knowing full well that it was either that or watch him sink beneath the surface of the molten rock below.

Chronos sighed brokenly, pushing at Link's chest. "It just isn't the same." He mourned.

"I think the heat is driving you mad." Link joked, poking the cat gently in the head. "Don't tempt her."

"I only did that because I needed to speak with you." Chronos whispered, voice fierce with sudden purpose. "Darunia came through here recently, it seems as though he entered from where we did and then went directly through the lava flow to the door."

Link instantly knew what door the cat was referring to. "What lies behind it?" he asked worriedly.

"The dragon whose blood defends you now." Chronos said, huddling deeper into the tunic. "Volvagia, the wyrm of legend who was born for the purpose of destruction; he is a world devourer, a planet killer. When he arrived here, the Goddesses confined him to Death Mountain where he would sleep until the life of Hyrule petered out and died. 'When chaos reigns and Our Creation falls into ruin, may the wyrm Volvagia awaken once more to dispense of Our skeleton world.'"

"Great." Link put a hand over his face, then moved to scratch the back of his neck. "When Ganondorf corrupted the Temples, he threw off the balance and awakened Volvagia."

"Yes." Chronos said simply. "Darunia has gone to face him alone."

"Idiot." Link growled with feeling, drawing Rayne's attention. "Not you…"

"Who then?" she asked, opening her pack to retrieve a canteen. "Drink quickly, at this temperature it'll turn to steam before I can put it back."

Link accepted it and took a swig, feeling mildly better as the cool liquid coursed down his throat to settle with a slightly fizzing sensation in his stomach. "That's not water." He said with certainty as Rayne collected it and took a sip herself, smacking her lips for optimum taste factor.

"Hmm… seems to have herbs and juices mixed in, probably for water retention to avoid dehydration."

Link felt like he was sweating slightly less but it was hard to tell, had he noticed before or after Rayne's statement? He shrugged and continued to speak with Chronos. "Is there any way to get to the door without burning up in the lava?"

"If we could find a Goron to carry us across, or a rock large enough to push into the lava flow to cross over, perhaps." The cat tried to settle himself so that he could sit without falling out the bottom of the tunic. "The Gorons might not agree to help us, they've been trapped here for so long that the instinctual first action will be flight."

"We need to rescue them soon; there's something stirring in the Temple." Rayne's words caught Link's attention. Her lips were suddenly pale and trembling and her hands were clasped so tightly that she was drawing half-moons in her flesh with her nails.

"Volvagia?" Chronos asked, his head once again appearing out of Link's collar as he peered around and listened.

"No, its something else, an entity of purer flame." Rayne steadied her breathing by closing her eyes and inhaling, giving Link a feeble grin when he put a solid hand on her shoulder. "It's okay now; the feeling's not so overwhelming."

"Purer flame… I wonder." Chronos' paw poked out of the neckline and dangled. "I can't think straight; this heat is throwing the smoke from my frying brain across my thinking patterns."

"That almost made sense." Navi said, peeping out from under Link's hat. To the hero himself she entreated. "Could you stop sweating so profusely? It's so humid in here that I can hardly breathe, besides which my hair is frizzing up."

"You could always come out in the open and see if there's an improvement." Chronos said, tucking his paw back into the tunic. "I'm sure your hair would dry right out."

"Enough." Link said tiredly before the argument could break out in earnest. "We have to find the Gorons, defeat Volvagia and go on to the next Temple."

"How repetitive," the cat murmured. "This mission was obviously not meant for a party with a short attention span. Which reminds me, how did _you_ manage to get caught in this, fairy?"

"I said enough, cat." Link discouraged, tapping the black feline on the nose.

Rayne gave a short laugh at Chronos' malicious glare in Link's direction. "Now, now, let's not do anything that would warrant an airborne descent into the lava pits."

"Here Rayne, take him, I don't trust those claws." Link removed Chronos from under his shirt and passed him to the dark-haired female; smirking when she wrinkled her nose, looking put out.

She took the offered cat unenthusiastically, carefully tucking him under her tunic. "Any more smart remarks cat, and I'll temporarily forget the suggestion I just made."

"Oh, very well, if it'll make you feel better, they're nothing like pillows… actually they are reminiscent of—"

"Chronos!" Rayne and Link's voices, one raised in warning the other in anger, ricocheted off the walls and down the network of tunnels; the sound plunged into magma and caused geyser bubbles to burst into burning fragments of malleable glop and continued on until the racket faded into the darkest depths of the Temple.

And it was answered.

Cries echoed back to them, rumbling calls for assistance in a variety of tones that melded and mashed and became indistinguishable to human ears. Chronos flinched under the assault and buried his face in the curve of Rayne's neck, ears lying flat. The wails were unique enough for Link to know that they came from the throats of Gorons, dozens of them entombed throughout the brimstone Temple. He exchanged a horrified glance with Rayne before rushing forward, her footsteps tapping on the hard rock just behind him.

…………………………………………………………………………………

The first Goron they came upon was young, not by Hylian standards but unquestionably by the rock-dwellers'. Its purple eyes were over-bright with joy when it spotted them, its nearsighted eyes straining to catch their facial features even as it waved them over.

"You're here to save me?" he asked without preamble, nearly bouncing around his cell.

"Yes." Link said, his eyes searching the door for a lock and finding none. "How on Hyrule are we supposed to open this?"

The excitement, barely contained, wavered slightly at the question. "There's a switch on the outside."

Link, Rayne, Chronos and Navi examined the floor, looking for a protruding stone or lever. When several minutes passed and no one reported a finding, Link questioned the Goron as to the switch's residence.

"There." The rock-eater said simply, pointing upward.

Link followed the Goron's chubby, chiseled finger, and saw it; a square that was slightly darker than the stone surrounding it. Link swore with feeling; it was at least eleven feet up from the ground.

"I could levitate one of us up." Rayne suggested.

"You could, but it would just be a waste of magic." Chronos said, green eyes taking into account the distance and then each of them. "But there's an easier, less extravagant way."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Link didn't particularly mind kneeling on the ground, among the unforgiving rock and dirt, he didn't even care about Rayne climbing cautiously onto his shoulders, leaving dusty imprints on his tunic. What he did mind, however, was Chronos' incessant cackling.

"Quiet cat." He warned, gripping Rayne's ankles to stabilize her before rising.

"Oh come now, Link, where is your sense of humor?" the feline asked from Rayne's tunic.

"It burned up somewhere in the first room." The hero replied as he strained up with the new weight, slowly enough to avoid accidentally pitching the girl on his shoulders to the ground.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation boys, but we have a slight problem." Rayne's toes were digging into Link's shoulders even through his tunic and her shoes. "We aren't tall enough to reach it."

"So much for that idea." Link mumbled, starting to kneel down again to let Rayne off.

"Hold on now, kiddies." Chronos crawled out of Rayne's tunic and up to her shoulder, jumping lithely to her head. "Hold me up."

Rayne did as instructed, muttering about bossiness as she stretched her arms upward.

"A little higher." The cat said, paws extended and just barely touching the switch.

Rayne stretched higher, giving a slight screech of surprise when Link followed suit. Chronos pressed hard and felt the switch give. The cell door came open with a clang and Link was suddenly pressured to maintain balance and accept an eager Goron hug, holding tighter to Rayne's ankles as she wobbled.

"Thank you, thank you!" The Goron said, nearly lifting Link off the ground and spilling all he held. "Thank you, my friend!"

"You're… quite welcome." The hero managed to say, very little air in his lungs. "But… I need you… to… let go… now."

The Goron immediately did as asked, allowing Link to stoop down and let the panicking girl on his back hop off and dig her fingers into solid ground. He half anticipated her to kiss the dirt in thankfulness but she eventually regained her feet and shook her head to bring to order rampant thoughts. Link waited to make sure she and Chronos were squared away before turning to the animated Goron.

"Can you make it out of here on your own?" he asked, picking up the sword and shield he had laid on the ground. "Do you need to be led out?"

The Goron embraced Link in a bone-crushing hug once more, causing several joints to pop from the exerted pressure. The hero fervently hoped that nothing would dislocate permanently, he was going to need all limbs to endure not only the trials on the sacred grounds of flame, but also to evade the appreciation of the next few Death Mountain residents.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Rayne did not like her tunic; it was itchy even with the cotton lining and clung to her skin with a persistence that no amount of picking and resettling would resolve. She eyed Link to see if he was encountering the same problem but immediately averted her stare when he felt her gaze and smiled at her. Apparently he enjoyed clothing that felt like sandpaper.

There was also the flickering of unadulterated energy that flared at the corners of her mind every so often, testing, inquisitive and commonly occurring when she least expected it. Rayne wasn't quite sure what exactly was causing the odd flashes and she was becoming increasingly concerned with her mental health. Just when she began to doubt that the sensations and the glittering images were real, they would appear again. Curiosities, she dubbed them, similar to her visions but less personal with a force behind it that was of the living; they did not seem to want to overwhelm her with a different reality, merely poke at her like children tended to do to butterflies. She just hoped she would hold under the strain better than the fragile metamorphic insects characteristically did.

"Goddesses." She murmured, holding out a hand to catch a wall when a particularly aggressive curiosity overtook her. Her fingers scraped against the stone as she tried to catch herself, hoping not to fall and look foolish. Link was instantly at her side, snagging an arm before she tumbled. So much for not looking foolish, Rayne thought with an internal sigh.

"What happened?" he asked, adjusting his hold so that he could support her without bruising her arm. She was aware of his knee at her back, propping her up while his right hand went to the back of her head. His other leg was flat against the ground and, flushing, she realized that she was too close to sitting on his lap for her own good. This was very similar to the daydreams she had entertained in a dark corner of her mind where all impossibilities awoke at the smallest beckoning.

Rayne realized that she had been too quiet for too long when he leaned down closer to her, staring at her eyes and searching for any indication of illness that could be had. He touched his cheek to hers, obviously to see if her tunic was working as well as his. His cheek was cooler but not significantly, he pulled back, watching her quizzically when she began stuttering out something resembling an explanation for her behavior. She didn't care if the sentence was understandable; she just needed him to take a couple steps back before she closed the modest distance between their lips. Temptation hummed in her ears and stung her eyes with unfairness; Rayne felt a burning where he held her, a hormonal rush of desire.

She wanted to admit it, tell him her feelings outright and see if it would work out. But one look into his blue, oceanic eyes and the need died a slow and painful death in her throat.

He wouldn't understand, he couldn't. He was a ten-year-old mind in an adult's body, still trying to learn the ropes. Malon had been the closest thing to companionate love he had ever experienced and his grief for her still shone behind his determination to be a dependable hero. Rayne couldn't tell him, not without risking the camaraderie they shared and putting her feelings on the line with a boy not old enough to know if he squished them.

The knowledge caused an almost physical ache in her chest, a sad emptiness that increased with every hollow beat of her heart. No one else could have made her feel so terribly with nary a word, a gesture or an expression. He was nothing but kind to her, helpful and comprehending when she needed him to be, but she still felt isolated from him. There was a partition between them, built from time flow and grave dirt, her hateful lust for him and his battered innocence; it had been erected the second he had said her name.

She absolutely refused to cry, weep tears of frustration and frailty, but the pressure of not doing so was choking the remaining air from her lungs as surely as a Goron's strong arms would.

Rayne noticed for the first time that the room had slowly grown more heated as she had silently defeated herself. The curiosities were constantly on her now, responding to her own state of distress like some chivalrous knights falling all over themselves to make her feel better. She tried to push them away, but it was a half-hearted attempt at most, and they returned.

There was a noise and Link had his sword in hand without jostling her from where she huddled against him, prepared to protect and rend. Rayne shook her head and quickly drew a dagger, trying to blink away the aggressive curiosity that was overturning the others that had taken up residence at the edges of her mind.

She put her hand to the wall to push her body up, yelping and drawing it away when her nerves screamed at the contact. She stared at her reddened hand and the small, raised bumps on her skin, glancing at the wall and hissing between her teeth. The place where she had touched the stone was glowing and smoking, the orange spreading along the wall and causing the rock to begin to melt, dripping in chunky sections to the floor and revealing what lay beyond.

The creature was blindingly bright; a miniature sun in a humanoid shape that sifted through the rock like it was yielding dough. It was lean, almost spindly with long, thick legs and a thatch of flaming, bright hair. A gap opened in its face and a noise that nearly made her ears bleed erupted, shrieking and enraged.

"I have a feeling your weapons are going to fair about as well as that wall." Chronos said, staring at the creature as it stepped through the hole it had created.

"I agree." Rayne took a step back, looking to the place they had entered and gesturing for Link to flee in that direction. When he noticed the motion he shook his head and pointed to the door opposite it.

"Men." She muttered, wondering if he knew that whatever was on the other side of that door wasn't just as dangerous before breaking into a run.

She heard a rush of air and the crackling of flame and the creature was suddenly in front of her, blockading the door with its fiery presence. She skidded to a halt and jumped back to elude the blazing monster as it reached out to seize her. Link ducked down beside her and struck its legs with a rock he had retrieved, watching in dismay at the small, sharp stone fizzled and turned to ash before making contact.

The fire being reached out and grabbed Link by neck, raising him off of the ground so that his feet dangled helplessly. Rayne hesitated, sensing that one of the curiosities was emanating from the volatile creature before her then vaulting into action when she recognized the monster's aim: destroying the fire tunic's resistant material.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Blisters were spreading under his chin and along his neck and chest even with the fire tunic's aura flaring to its brightest abilities. Link tried to make it release him but he couldn't bear to touch it without more blisters appearing.

He could feel the magics fighting against one another and he could keenly sense that his tunic was not winning the battle. The fire was singeing his eyelashes and clouding his vision, its flames sucking away any oxygen that might have found its way into his straining lungs. He was either going to die from asphyxiation or from being fried alive, it was not a pleasant ultimatum.

He vaguely heard Rayne screaming as the Master Sword slipped from his fingers, useless in this fight. Link saw red and struggled, but there was little he could accomplish, the grip of the fire creature was strong. The red tint darkened to grey and then to black, the pain dissipating as endorphins were distributed. The cacophony of noise faded away from his ears, filtering out until he could hear only the portentous crackling of flames.

Coldness washed over him like a wave, starting from his neck and circulating throughout his body. The numbness was the worst as it settled in to stay, indicating what was likely a fatal injury. He tried to tell Rayne to run but he wasn't sure if the order made it from his failing brain to his unfeeling lips.

Twilight mist twined through his consciousness and shut down the remaining thought processes. Mortality was a lingering sweet rot that coated his tongue, but his last thought was Impa's voice, warning him what would happen if he did not succeed, and the taste of death mingled with that of a sour defeat.

…………………………………………………………………………………….

Author's Notes: If my readers haven't realized it by now, I thrive on cliffhangers, they give me an obvious place to start in the next chapter, plus… well, they're damn fun.

All bow down to Ryu-sama for his editing job. He was great enough to get it done during the week of Easter even with real life issues running rampant. His best friend was sent out to naval boot camp on Monday, all of our hopes go with him. This chapter is dedicated to Scott who had to leave behind his family and friends, may he return swiftly and without complication to assuage any worries they may have.

Reviewers! -Hugs them-:

To Christa: -Giggles- No need to be so upset, it is _just_ a fanfic after all. Rayne does have black hair while Malon's is an auburn shade. Just keep reading and all will be revealed (I hope…).

To eddy: Thanks for the compliment. As for the fairy ocarina, Link still carries it with him at all times as a reminder of what will happen if he fails to protect those around him (especially Rayne because she can't seem to leave him alone).

To Cuddly Bear: Thank you very much. Sorry this next chapter took so long, but its finally posted now. As for your other questions, you'll just have to wait and see.

To FrizzMedusa: Wow, this is a really common question… just keep reading. I appreciate the compliment as well.

To tiduslover2004: I laughed really hard when I read your review. Chronos is nearly as old as the Goddesses and about as picky when it comes to his love life. He's had tons of relationships throughout the centuries but none of them have ended well (mainly because he is immortal and his lovers are often not). He actually had a brief affair with an original character that I've already mentioned, but since I didn't want to take focus away from the main conflict, I left that part out. He loves Rayne but more in a paternal manner rather than an intimate fashion.

As for the Link/Rayne aspect, you'll just have to wait it out and see.

To Steve-Racer: Oh no, I'm a pretty shoddy last hope, I'll try not to let you down though.

Dumno pretty much appeared of his own volition, he had a story to tell and he wouldn't leave me alone until I put it down. He's a very multi-faceted character and he has such an intriguing past that he may get his own fanfic.

Brevity is not my strong suit. My English teacher has pointed this out a multitude of times and I've always agreed. I try really hard with the battle scenes but they always come out a bit flat, while my dialogue is incorrigible, but I thank you sincerely for the kind words anyway.

As for the Saria scene, I always wondered if there would have been something between her and Link had he really not been Hylian. She seemed to adore him and he looked up to her so sincerely that it was hard to overlook the affection between them. The kiss represented time lost and all the things left unsaid. She loved him but nothing could ever come of it and so, in the end, she dedicated herself to his cause while simultaneously letting him go.

Extras:

Alias: Chariot

Real Name: Episkopos

Origin of Name: Old Greek

Meaning of Name: Overseer/watcher

Pronounced: eh-PIH-skoh-poss

Race: Hylian

Runic Alignment: Cen

Eye color: Brown

Hair color: Brown

Age: 42

Description: Chariot worked at the Castle before Ganondorf took it over. He loves animals, and cares for all the creatures of Arcana with a steady hand but seems stiff when around people. He also doubles as a blacksmith and makes weapons.

_"Reputation is what others know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself." – _**Lois McMaster Bujold **

Alias: Star

Name: Sitareh

Origin of Name: Old Persian

Meaning of Name: Star

Pronounced: see-TAH-reh

Race: Hylian

Runic Alignment: Lagu

Eye color: Blue

Hair color: Brown

Age: 15

Description: An amazingly optimistic and easy going young girl who has the ability to heal. She has a crush on Link but is painfully shy about it. She is often overshadowed by the mages in the group, but is very dependable despite her deep-seated wish to shine.

_"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race." _**– Calvin Coolidge **

Keep in mind that Arcana is an original idea (as are most of the characters that compose it) and is not to be used without my explicit permission. Well I guess that's it, next chapter should be up whenever I finish it. Thanks for reading


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